STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



BY 



WILLIAM HENRY LOCKE, A M., 

H 

CHAPLAIN, 



NEW YORK: 
JAMES MILLER, PUBLISHER, 
647 BROADWAY. 
18.72. 



w 



.6 
6k 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 18^' , by 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT &C0., 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for 
the Eastern District of Penus5'lvania. 



TO THE LIVING OF THE 

OLD PENNSYLVANIA ELEVENTH, 

AND TO THE 

IE hvl o 

OF ITS MANY GALLANT DEAD, 

THIS VOLUME 



\ 



■1 



I 



PREFACE. 



The first object sought in this volume is to put on 
permanent record the deeds of a brave and noble regi- 
ment — an effort that will be fully appreciated by its 
numerous friends. The author also designs that it 
should be a contribution to the general history of the 
war. To secure such a history, the story of each sep- 
arate regiment must first be known. 

The duties of the writer did not require him to carry 
either sword or musket, and the story he here tells is 
made up from a note-book never absent from him, 
whether in camp or on the march. When the original 
record — sometimes made during a halt along the road- 
side, and sometimes in the midst of battle — better tells 
the story that record is inserted, day and date. 

Everything promising to throw light upon the cam- 
paigns of the Army of the Potomac has been carefully 
read and freely used, in giving the reasons for certain 

(V) 



vi 



PREFACE. 



movements and the ends to be secured. It was the 
fortune of the Eleventh Regiment to be connected with 
most of the principal operations of the army to which 
it belonged. Enough of general information is there- 
fore given to form a continuous narrative of events ; 
and to the ordinary reader perhaps the book will be 
found to serve the place of a larger and more pretend- 
ing history of the Army of the Potomac. 

W. H. L. 

Pittsburg, October 1, 1867. 



CONTENTS. 



I. 



CHAPTER I. 

Rebellion armed and defiant — Call for troops — Eleventh 
Regiment organized 13 

CHAPTER II. 

The oifensive — Guarding the railroad — Patterson on the 
Upper Potomac — March into Virginia — Battle of Falling 
Waters — Pennsylvania's first killed — Martinsburg 16 

CHAPTER III. 

McDowell and Patterson to co-operate — Army delayed — 
The runaway slave — Reconnoissance to Winchester — 
Charlestown— Battle of Bull Run 26 

II. 

CHAPTER I. 

The rebellion in a new phase — Re-enlistment — From citi- 
zen to soldier — Filling up regiments — Quarrel about the 
number — Governor's order — Field and stafi' 35 

CHAPTER II. 

From Pennsylvania to Maryland — Through Baltimore — 

Annapolis — Northern arguments — Master and slave 42 

(vii) 



Vlll 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER nr. 

Side issues of the conflict — The iron-clad Merrimac — The 
subdued domestic — Washington — Review by the Presi- 
dent 51 

CHAPTER IV. 

From Maryland to Virginia — Manassas — Midnight alarm — 
Clerical captive 57 

CHAPTER V. 

Manassas and environs — Bull Run battle-field — White 
Plains^Absconding darkies G5 

CHAPTER VI. 

Marching southward — Hartsuff's Brigade — Falmouth — Mc- 
Dowell's Corps — Fredericksburg — A night march — Alex- 
andria — Pursuit of Jackson — Front Royal — Belle Boyd 
— Escape 72 

III. 

CHAPTER, I. 

Pope's campaign — Warrenton — Waterloo — Arrival of Pope 
— Review — Army of Virginia — Culpepper — Battle of Ce- 
dar Mountain — Advance to the Rapidan 82 

CHAPTER II. 

An opportune capture — Retreat to the Rappahannock — 
Culpepper greetings — Fight at Rappahannock Station... 93 

CHAPTER III. 

Pope retreating northward — Company G — Battle of Tho- 
roughfare Grap — Hospital at Manassas 100 

CHAPTER IV. 

Second Bull Run — Porter disobeys orders — Longstreet 
unites with Jackson — Division on the left — Losses in the 
Eleventh — Retreat to Centerville — Battle of Chantilly — 
Within the fortifications — Pope and McDowell 106 



CONTENTS. 



ix 



IV. 

CHAPTER 1. 

Hall's Hill— Colonel Martin — Maj. Frink— Colonel Fletcher 
Webster — Invasion of Maryland — McClellan — Feeling; of 



troops — March through Washington — Recruits from Har- 
risburg — Battle of South Mountain , 115 

CHAPTER XL 

McClellan and Lee on Upper Potomac — Rebel chaplain 
— Keedysville — Battle of Antietam — Hartsuflf's Brigade 
— Fighting on the right — Scenes in hospital — Antietam 
after the battle 123 

CHAPTER TIL 

Army in repose — Walnut Grove camp — Foraging for the 
mess — Louisiana vs. Virginia — Sermon in camp 134 

CHAPTER IV. 

Tent life in Maryland — Night experiences — Stuart's cav- 
alry raid — Dreams and visions 146 

V. 

CHAPTER I. 

McClellan superseded by Burnside — Feeling in the army — 
Campaign begun — On the Rappahannock — Bombard- 
ment of Fredericksburg — Across the river 152 

CHAPTER IL 

Fredericksburg — Night before the battle — December 13th 
— Operations on the left — Pollock's house — Burying the 
dead 161 

CHAPTER III. 

After the battle — Wounded in Washington — Excitement in 
tlie city — Burnside — Camp near Fletcher Chapel — Notes 
from diary — Virginia sclioolmaster — Northern claim on 
Virginia 168 



X 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Buvnside to cross the Rappahannock — Troops in motion — 
Winter storm — Army in the mud 178 



VI. 

CHAPTER 1. 

Burnside gives place to Hooker — Organized desertion — A 
new bill of fare — Ai'my kept employed — Improved con- 
dition of the troops — Preparations to march 184 

CHAPTER 11. 

Chancellorville campaign — First Corps on the left — Into 
the Wilderness — Jackson's flank attack — Death of Jack- 
son — First Corps on the right — Kctreat from the Wilder- 



ness 193 

CHAPTER III. 

After the battle of Chancellorville — Feeling among the 
troops — Revelations of old letters — Division reorgan- 
ized — General Baxter — Marching northward — Aci'oss 
Manassas plains 205 

CHAPTER IV. 

Hooker and Lee — Moseby — Parting with Virginia — First 
Corps at' Emmettsburg 215 



VII. 

CHAPTER L 

Hooker displaced by Meade — Impression on the Array — 
Enemy in front of Gettysburg — First day of July — Rebels 



quartered, in the town 223 

CHAPTER 11. 

Armies concentrated at Gettysburg — Second day of July- 
Third day of July—July Fourth.... 233 



CONTENTS. xi 

CHAPTER III. 

Gettyslourg under rebel rule — A rampant quartermaster — ■ 
First Corps on Cemetery Hill — Pickett's charge — A bold 
pioneer 240 

CHAPTER IV. 

Retreat and pursuit — Bulletins of victory — Vandals — The 
lost found — Lee across the Potomac 247 

CHAPTER V. 

Marching through Loudon Valley — Battle-field of An- 
tietam — An unamiable lady — Fording Goose Creek — 
White Plains — Bealton Station — Fight at Brandy Station 
— Eleventh on Hartsuffs knoll 255 



CHAPTER VI. 

Occupying the line of the Rapidan — Substitutes — Raccoon 
Ford — Execution of a deserter— Reading the enemy's 
signals — Kelly's Ford — Raid on the sutlers — Retreat to 
Centerville— Mysterious movements 267 

CHAPTER VII. 

From the Rapidan to Centerville — First Corps at Bristow — 
Bull Ptun — Reprieved deserter — Bull Run battle-field — 
Detected conscript — Thoroughfare Gap — Camp rumors.. 277 

CHAPTER Vm. 

Back to the Rappahannock — Eleventh at Morrisville— 
Across the river — Bivouac on Auburn farm — Alarm — 



Camp near Liberty — Guerrillas — Adventures of the 
•wounded — An outside patient 288 

CHAPTER IX. 

Mine Run Campaign — South of the Rapidan — In position 
on Mine Kun — Marching back — Short rations — Kelly's 
Ford 308 

CHAPTER X. 

Another campaign completed — Faith of the army — Re- 
enlisting — Veteran furlough 314 



xii 



CONTENTS. 



VIII. 



CHAPTER L 

Lieutenant-General U. S. Grant — Furlough ended — Promo- 
tions — Farewell to First Corps — Campaign begun — Bat- 
tle of the Wilderness — Longstreet on the left — Rebel 
successes on the right — Race for Spottsylvania — Death 
of Major Keenan 318 

CHAPTER II. 

In front of Spottsylvania — Laurel Hill — Moving to the left 
— Grant marching southward — -On the North Anna — • 
Chickahominy — Bethesda Church — Cold Harbor — Harri- 
son's Landing 334 

CHAPTER IIL 

South of the James — In front of Petersburg — Mine explo- 
sion — Fight for the Weldon Railroad 351 

CHAPTER IV. 

Advances and retrogrades— Changes in the Eleventh — 
Hicksford raid — Burning ties — Successful ambush — In 
camp 362 

CHAPTER V. 

Extending the left to Hatcher's Run — Consolidation of 
Eleventh and Ninetieth — Opening of the campaign — 
Battle of Hatcher's Run 371 

CHAPTER VI. 
Final Concentration — Army incredulous — Boydton plank- 
road — Reinforcing Sheridan 379 

CHAPTER VII. 
Fifth Corps with Sheridan — Getting into position — Battle 
of Five Forks — Captures and losses 386 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Last march of the Fifth Corps — General Warren relieved 
of command — Bivouac at Deep Creek — Appomattox 
Court House — Lee surrenders , 391 



CHAPTER IX. 
Homeward bound — Through Richmond — Across the Penin- 
sula — Hall's Hill — Grand review — Army disbanded — 
Harrisburg — Eleventh Regiment living and dead — End.. 398 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



I. 

CHAPTER I. 

REBELLION ARMED AND DEFIANT. 

The roar of Sumter's guns, as it rolled north- 
ward along the Atlantic coast, and westward 
across the prairies, awakened the nation from its 
peaceful dream of half a century, to the startling 
reality of armed and defiant Rebellion. 

A dissolution of the Federal Union, at first 
darkly hinted, and afterward openly avowed, 
toward the close of the year 1860 became a fixed 
purpose with leading Southern statesmen, — a 
purpose to which they gave masterly energies, 
entailing upon the country four years of calam- 
itous war. 

Following close upon the surrender of Fort 
Sumter, came the call from Washington, not 
less startling than the report of the first cannon 
shot, for volunteers to defend the rightful au- 
thority of the Government. Every IN'orthern 
State sent back the same enthusiastic response. 

2 (13) 



14 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Party lines were obliterated, and political differ- 
ences forgotten in the common danger. Cities 
and towns and villages rivaled each other in 
their patriotic offers of men and means. It was 
the uprising of an indignant and insulted people. 
The South had taken the sword ; and though re- 
luctant to begin the strife, the ITorth accepted 
the issue. 

The State capital became the military rendez- 
vous of Pennsylvania; and to Harrisburg her 
sons hastened, from their farms and their work- 
shops; from offices and stores and counting- 
rooms. Kapidly as the troops arrived they were 
organized into regiments and sent to the front, 
each regiment distinguished by the number that 
marked the order of its organization. 

One week later than the President's call for 
troops, ten companies, representing six different 
counties, and containing in all nearly a thousand 
men, were united and formed into the Eleventh 
Regiment. Co. A, Captain J. C. Dodge, Co. D, 
Captain W. B. Schott, and Co. G, Captain J. ]Sr. 
Bowman, represented Lycoming County; Co. B, 
Captain Phaen Jarrett, and Co. C, Captain H. 
M. Bossert, Clinton Count}' ; Co. E, Captain John 
B. Johnson, Luzerne County; Co. F, Captain C. 
J. Brunner, Is'orthumberland County; Co. H, 
Captain W. M. McLure, Montour County; Co. 
I, Captain Pichard Coulter, and Co. K, Captain 
W. B. Coulter, Westmoreland County. These 



ORGANIZATION COMPLETED. 



15 



brave men, meeting as strangers, but drawn to- 
gether by the same noble mipiilse of love of 
country, were now united, for life or for death, 
in strong and enduring bonds. 

The election for field ofiicers that followed this 
union of companies resulted in the choice of 
Captain Phaen Jarrett for Colonel; Captain 
Richard Coulter, Lieutenant-Colonel; and W. 
D. Earnest, Major. To complete the regimental 
organization, Lieutenant A. F. Aul was appointed 
Adjutant ; W. H. Hay, Quartermaster; Dr. W. F. 
Babb, Surgeon, and H. B. Beuhler, Assistant 
Surgeon. 

The Eleventh REaiMENT of Pennsylvania 
Volunteers was thenceforth a corporeal re- 
ality. From the 23d of April, 1861, to the sur- 
render of General Lee at Appomattox Court 
House, the history of the Old Eleventh" — so 
designated to distinguish it from the Eleventh 
Regiment of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps — 
is the histor}^, in part, of all the grand move- 
ments of the Army of the Potomac. 



16 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



CHAPTER II. 

NATIONAL FORCES TAKE THE OFFENSIVE. 

The secession of Virginia, on the ITtli day of 
April, made the i^ational Capital the main point 
to be defended ; and to Washington each State 
sent its first available troops. But the Govern- 
ment soon discovered that there were other ene- 
mies to provide against than those openly in arms 
in Virginia. Traitors walked abroad in the guise 
of peaceful citizens ; and since the wanton attack 
upon the troops passing through Baltimore, and 
the destruction of the railroads leading to that 
city, all the lines of travel communicating with 
Washington were closely guarded. 

Three days after its organization, by order of 
General Patterson, commanding the Department 
of Pennsylvania, the Eleventh Regiment, then 
at Camp Wayne, West Chester, was assigned to 
duty on the Baltimore and Wilmington Railroad, 
occupying the territory between Havre de Grace 
and Elkton. The instructions issued to Colonel 
Jarrett, defining the nature of the service re- 
quired of his regiment, indicated, even at that 
early day, the conciliatory spirit that ever ani- 
mated the Government throughout the entire 
rebellion. 



GUARDING THE RAILROAD. 



17 



" The Major-General understands that along 
the line of railway placed under your charge, and 
more particularly in the neighborhood of 'New- 
ark, inoffensive citizens have been molested by 
the troops lately removed. He wishes you to in- 
struct your men that this must not be ; and that 
the object of being where you are is to make 
friends of the inhabitants, and not enemies. * * 
You will instruct the of&cers stationed at isTew- 
ark to be careful to allay the angry feeling which 
has been excited at that point." 

The railroad was well guarded; and without 
any compromise of integrity, the other object — 
making friends of the inhabitants along the line 
— was also secured. At Havre de Grace, Cos. A 
and B, and Co. K at ]S!"ewark — where persons 
hadbeen arrested on idle and ill-founded charges — 
were made the recipients of the confidence and 
good will of the citizens, expressed in the most 
substantial manner. 

Into the brief hours of those unusual days 
were crowded events for whose maturity a quar- 
ter of a century had been necessary. Harper's 
Ferry, evacuated by the Federal troops in the 
evening, was occupied next morning by a large 
rebel force that marched down the Shenandoah 
Valley, under command of General J. E. John- 
son. An attack upon Washington, by way of 
Alexandria, was hourly expected; and the ap- 
pearance of the enemy at Harper's Ferry and 
2* 



18 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



along the banks of the Upper Potomac, looked 
as though an attempt was to be made to invest 
the city by overrunning the borders of Maryland 
and Pennsylvania. 

With something of the spirit that character- 
ized later army movements, all the troops that 
could be spared from the actual defense of Wash- 
ington were placed under command of General 
Patterson, and hastened to the border. The 
Eleventh Regiment, relieved of guard duty on 
the railroad, and marching by way of Baltimore 
and Washington, reported to the commanding 
general at Hagerstown, and was assigned to 
Colonel Abercrombie's Brigade of Keim's Di- 
vision. 

The army of General Patterson, as it was the 
largest single column acting against the enemy, 
was an object of national interest. It was pre- 
paring to march against twenty thousand rebels, 
whose leader expressed a determination to hold 
Harper's Ferry at all hazard, as the key of the 
Shenandoah Valley. General Scott counseled 
Patterson that it would not be enough simply to 
sustain no reverse. " A check, or a drawn bat- 
tle, would be a victory to the enemy, tilling his 
heart with joy, his ranks with men, and his mag- 
azines with voluntary contributions," telegraphed 
the veteran commander at the moment the troops 
took their first forward step. 

Filing out from the numerous camps around 



PATTERSON ON THE UPPER POTOMAC. 19 

Hagerstown, with the rising of the sun of June 
1st all the brigades and divisions of Patterson's 
column were moving in splendid order toward 
the Potomac. The army thus marching to the at- 
tack of Harper's Ferry, embraced within itself 
names since become of household familiarity in 
the military records of the nation. Major-Gen- 
eral Burnside was then known as Colonel Burn- 
side, in command of a Ehode Island regiment ; 
Major-General George H. Thomas was simply 
Colonel Thomas, commanding a brigade in Keim's 
Division ; Major-General John ITewton was only 
Captain IS'ewton, of the Engineer Corps. 

The rebel general did not wait for the near 
approach of Patterson's forces. Drawing in the 
two regiments of Texan riflemen that picketed 
the Potomac as far up as Sheppardstown, the day 
after our movement began Harper's Ferry was 
evacuated, Johnson falling back to Martinsburg. 
The unexpected retreat of the enemy was re- 
ceived with demonstrations of delight. It was 
regarded as an omen of good, promising a suc- 
cessful issue to all succeeding undertakings. 

Full of confident enthusiasm, the pursuit of 
Johnson was commenced the following morning. 
Seven or eight thousand troops had already 
crossed into Virginia, and were marching down 
the south bank of the Potomac, when a sudden 
halt was ordered by a telegram from Washing- 
ton, announcing that the city was threatened 



20 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



from the direction of Alexandria, and calling on 
Patterson for immediate reinforcements. 

The troops required by General Scott left the 
army on the Upper Potomac without either ar- 
tillery or cavalry, and so greatly reduced in the 
number of its effective men as to make a further 
advance impossible. The regiments that had 
crossed the river were recalled; and a movement, 
that at the first promised the most complete suc- 
cess, ended in days of wearisome inaction — as 
full of monotony to the soldier, as they were of 
impatience to the entire i^orth. 

Meanwhile the rebels, reassuring their cour- 
age at Patterson's unavoidable delay, again ap- 
proached the Potomac. Scouts reported that a 
large Confederate force occupied the country 
between Dam 'No. 4 and Sheppardstown, under 
command of Stonewall Jackson ; and that John- 
son was at Bunker Hill, with a reserve of not 
less than five thousand men. 

Toward the latter part of June, a battery of 
six guns and a small force of cavalry having been 
sent to him, General Patterson prepared to re- 
sume his forward movement. A reconnoissance 
in force was to be made into Yirginia, the troops 
moving in two separate columns. The Sixth 
Brigade, Colonel Abercrombie, under the guid- 
ance of Captain John ^sTewton, of the Engineer 
Corps, was to cross the river near Dam No. 4, 
supported by the First Brigade, Colonel Thomas, 



MARCH INTO VIRGINIA. 



21 



and four pieces of artillery. The Second and 
Fifth Brigades, Generals Wynkoop and JS'egley, 
were to remain within striking distance of Aber- 
crombie and Thomas. These troops constituted 
the first column, under command of Major-GTen- 
eral Keim. The second column consisted of 
the Third and Fourth Brigades, a squadron of 
cavalry, and one section of Perkin's Battery, 
under Major-General Cadwallader. The second 
column was to cross at William sport. 

The night preceding the contemplated move- 
ment, Lieutenant-Colonel Coulter and thirty men 
of the Eleventh Eegiment, were detailed to ex- 
plore the fordings of the river near the proposed 
place of passage for the first column. Marching 
quietly down the left bank, their movements 
concealed from the enemy's pickets by the in- 
tense darkness and the heavy falling rain, the 
exploring party carefully surveyed the river, 
crossing and recrossing at several different points. 
Everywhere high water rendered the fordings 
impassable. 

It was then decided to cross the entire force at 
Williamsport in the following order: Colonel 
Abercrombie's Brigade, with one section of ar- 
tillery and a squadron of cavalry. Colonel 
Thomas's Brigade, with one company of cavalry 
and two pieces of artillery. General ITegley's 
Brigade, with one section of artillery and a com- 
pany of cavalry, forming General Keim's Divi- 



22 



STORY OP THE REGIMENT. 



sion. General Cadwallader's Division was to 
follow close in the rear. 

One day was lost by the change in the order 
of march. But early on the morning of July 2d 
the army was in motion. An advance guard of 
one hundred and fifty men of the Eleventh, and 
McMullin's Philadelphia Eangers, was thrown 
across the river to carry the fording. A small 
rebel force, stationed on the Virginia shore to 
watch our movements, received the vanguard 
with a brisk, though entirely harmless, volley of 
musketry, i^othing daunted by a reception so 
purely Southern in all its characteristics, our men 
continued to advance, and the enemy retiring 
from the river, the army crossed the Potomac 
without further opposition. 

The first column marched southward along the 
main road, except iTegley's Brigade, that di- 
verged to the right, a short distance from the 
river, to protect our flank. The smooth pike 
leading to Martinsburg had not then received the 
impress of a tramping army; nor were the green 
fields, on either side of it, transformed into fields 
of blood and carnage. Yet there was a sound 
of battle in the air. Skirmishers were kept 
thrown out well to the front, and an occasional 
rebel vedette could be seen, falling slowly back 
before our cautious advance. 

Six miles from Williamsport, toward the mid- 
dle of the forenoon, the army reached Falling 



BATTLE OF FALLING WATERS. 



23 



Waters. Broad acres of wheat flanked the road 
right and left, and on a slight elevation in front 
stood the residence of the proprietor. At the 
moment of advancing through a skirt of woods, 
and in turning a short angle in the road, our 
skirmish line suddenly developed a force of the 
enemy posted in a clump of trees, while the main 
body of the Confederates appeared in sight, shel- 
tered behind breastworks of fence rails and fallen 
timber. It was the Brigade of Stonewall Jackson 
by which we were thus confronted, since cele- 
brated as the " Stonewall Brigde," consisting of 
the Second, Fourth, Fifth, and Twenty-seventh 
Virginia Regiments, J. E. B. Stuart's cavalry 
regiment, and Captain Pendleton's battery of 
four guns. 

The disposition of the Federal troops was quick 
and judicious. Abercrombie deployed the Elev- 
enth Pennsylvania and First Wisconsin to the 
right and left of the pike. Hudson's battery, 
supported by McMullin's Eangers, was placed in 
the middle of the road, and a general advance 
ordered against the rapid fire of the rebels, drawn 
up in battle-line behind Porterfield's house. With 
shouts and cheers, that ran along the whole col- 
umn of troops hurrying forward at the sound of 
cannon, the leading brigade obeyed the word of 
command. 

The enemy's artillery was admirably posted to 
sweep the Martinsburg pike; but, fortunately, 



24 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Pendleton's range was too high, and the shot 
passed harmlessly overhead. "While thus engag- 
ing the rebel infantry and artillery in front, 
Stuart brought up his cavalry, and riding swiftly 
from the opposite direction, was seen to make 
threatening demonstrations on the right of the 
Eleventh. Repulsing two separate efforts on the 
part of Stuart to charge our line. Colonel Jarrett 
detached Cos. A, B, and C as skirmishers, to 
take the cavalry on the flank; while the left 
wing of the regiment was pushed forward to 
turn the rebel cannon planted in the middle of 
the road. 

The unusual excitement of battle now extended 
to the remotest file of the army, and footmen and 
horse were pressing with eager haste toward the 
front. Thomas's Brigade, marching behind Aber- 
crombie, and the next to reach the ground, quit- 
ting the pike, and moving in compact lines 
through the fields, extended its right toward the 
enemy's left flank. Closely pressed by Aber- 
crombie in front, and threatened on the left by 
Thomas, further resistance was useless; and after 
a spiteful encounter of nearly an hour, Jackson 
reluctantly abandoned the field. 

The purple tide, that has since reached its 
flood height, has effaced almost every mark of 
the battle of Falling Waters. Yet the features 
of war are ever the same. Those fields of wheat, 
just ripe for the harvest, were trodden down and 



OCCUPATION OF MAKTINSBURa. 25 



destroyed. The elegant farm-house, whose white 
front could be seen through overhanging trees 
and climbing vines, was shattered by artillery, 
and the peaceful scene of rural felicity marred 
and ruined. 

Stonewall Jackson's first engagement with our 
troops did not promise the success of later ex- 
ploits. Eight of his dead were left unburied on 
the field, and a large number are known to have 
been wounded. The Union loss was two killed 
and fifteen wounded. Of these the Eleventh lost 
Amos Sappinger, Co. H, killed. Wounded — 
William Haunaker, Co. B ; James Morgan, D. 
Stiles, Nelson Headen, Co. E ; Christian Shawl, 
Co. E; Eussel Levan, John De Hass, Co. G; 
John Reed, Wm. G. Kuhns, Co. K. 

Amos Sappinger was Pennsylvania's first life 
otf'ering on the battle-field, in the war for the 
Union. He deserves a more enduring monument 
than these pages. 

The pursuit of the retreating foe was kept up 
as far as Hainesville, four miles from Martins- 
burg, where the army bivouacked for the night. 
Resuming the march with the earliest dawn of 
next day, on the 3d of July Patterson occupied 
Martinsburg, Stonewall Jackson falling back on 
the reserve force at Bunker Hill. 



3 



26 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



CHAPTER III. 

M'DOWELL and PATTERSON TO CO-OPERATE. 

The duty first assigned to General Patterson 
was the capture of Harper's Ferry. 'Now he had 
another and more important task to perform. A 
column from Washington, under command of 
General McDowell, was to move against the rebel 
army concentrated at Manassas Junction; and 
Patterson was to co-operate with that column 
either by directly attacking Johnson at Win- 
chester, or by threats and a well sustained show 
of opposition, prevent him from leaving the Val- 
ley to reinforce Beauregard. 

The term of service for which the three months' 
troops had volunteered would soon expire. An- 
ticipating an easy victory, and regarding the 
whole affair very much in the light of a holiday 
excursion, every man was greatly solicitous that 
before returning home, his regiment should be 
brought into actual conflict with the insurgents. 

But there was a serious delay of several days 
at Martinsburg. The rebels had utterly destroyed 
the railroad from thence to Harper's Ferry, leav- 
ing behind them, in their retreat from the town, 
nothing but the smouldering ruins of the spa- 



ARMY DELAYED. 



27 



cious depot and the charred remains of forty- 
eight locomotives. ]^o reliance could be placed 
on foraging from the adjacent country, as the 
hungry Southerner had already eat it bare. 
The Quartermaster's Department did not know 
how to provide for an army of eighteen thousand 
men as expeditiously as in later days. Wagons 
were scarce, and as all the supplies for Patterson's 
troops were hauled from Williamsport, to collect 
rations for more than two days in advance was 
next to impossible. 

On the 8th of July orders were issued to the 
army for an advance on Winchester early next 
morning. But before midnight, and in the midst 
of active preparations by each regiment and 
brigade for the expected movement, the order 
was countermanded. A part of the reinforce- 
ments arrived on that day was reported unable, 
without rest, to bear the fatigues of a further 
march, and be in proper condition to meet the 
enemy. 

In consultation with some of his principal offi- 
cers. General Patterson found decided opposi- 
tion to the advance on Winchester; and before 
renewing the order to march, a council was called, 
composed of the division and brigade command- 
ers, the officers of the engineers, and the chiefs 
of the departments of transportation and supply. 
There was great unanimity of opinion that the 
army was on a false line; that it could more 



28 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



certainly hold Johnson at Winchester, and co- 
operate with McDowell at Manassas, by taking a 
position at Charlestown, than by remaining at 
Martinsburg, or advancing further down the 
Yalley. 

As a result of this council, the abandoned 
picket lines around Martinsburg were again es- 
tablished ; and officers who did not spend their 
evenings at the gay mansion of minister Faulk- 
ner, enjoying the polite society of his accom- 
plished wife and daughters, detailing to them all 
the probable movements of the Federal army — 
only to be faithfully reported to the rebel com- 
mander — went about discharging the duties as- 
signed to them. 

Every one coming into Martinsburg from the 
direction of Bunker Hill or Winchester, supposed 
to be able to give any information respecting the 
movements of the enemy, was at once taken be- 
fore General Patterson. Our pickets were fa- 
miliar with this custom, and when they arrested 
the runaway slave of Mr. Byerly, living at Darks- 
ville, some distance beyond Bunker Hill, they 
knew that he would be welcome at army head- 
quarters. 

The colored man had not yet arrived to the es- 
tate of a contraband ; but his information was 
always regarded as more reliable than that of any 
other. If he sometimes told more than he knew, 
the fact was no disparagement to the negro. It 



THE RUNAWAY SLAVE. 



29 



only proved that in one point at least he was very 
much like his white master. 

All the knowledge possessed by the slave was 
soon imparted. Johnson and Jackson often came 
to his master's house. He had heard them say 
that the principal part of the Southern force was 
at Winchester, throwing up intrenchments in ex- 
pectation that the Yankees were coming; and 
that many of the colored people had been sent 
there to help on the work. Jackson was at Bunker 
Hill, with Colonel Stuart and Captain Pendleton. 
He knew these officers, because they often visited 
at his master's house. 

^' Did you ever hear your master say how many 
soldiers Johnson has?" 

" ISTo, sah; but he always shakes his head when 
he talks about it, and says : 'jist let de Yankees 
come on !' " 

The colored man's face was turned toward the 
Potomac, and when the general and his staff had 
ceased to question him, he begged to be permit- 
ted to pursue his journey. But in reward for re- 
vealing what he knew, he was sent to the guard- 
house, and confined as a runaway slave. 

"How did you get off at last, George?" we 
asked of him a year or two later, in the interior 
of Pennsylvania. 

"Well, sail, dey kept me in de guard-house 
until de army moved to Bunker Hill. Den I got 
away from de guard, and went right back to my 
3* 



30 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



ole massa. I was afeard ob de Yankees after 
dat, and when dey come again into de Valley I 
staid close at home. But one mornin', jist about 
daylight, your army begin to come back along de 
road from Winchester, marchin' very fast. My 
ole massa rubbed his hands and shook his head. 
'I know'd it,' says he ; 'Jackson is arter Banks, 
and he'll cotch him yit.' 

" I watch'd 'em comin' back for two or three 
hours ; and I seed among de wagons an' de hos- 
men a good many colored people dat I know'd. 
Den I says to my wife: 'Mary, I feel as if I 
ought to go too.' 'Jist do as you like, George,' 
says she; 'but don't forgit to come back arter 
me.' Ole massa was settin' out on de poach ; so 
I goes down behind de barn and up through de 
orchard. If I could only git through de orchard, 
den I know'd I would be out ob sight. But it 
seemed as if I'd never git to de top ob de hill ; 
m}^ feet felt so heavy I couldn't run. Bime-by 
I got out to de road among de soldiers, den safe 
across de Potomac, and at last into Pennsyl- 
vany. Arter awhile I goes back for Mary. Some- 
body told massa I was in de neighborhood, and 
he watched all night wid a gun to shoot me when 
I come round de house. But Mary got away 
safe too, and now I 'spect we'll jist stay whar we 
is." 

The movement from Washington, under Gen- 
eral McDowell, was to commence on the 16th of 



RECONNOISSAKCE TO WINCHESTER. 31 

July. To keep up a threatening attitude in front 
of Johnson, and by every possible means retain 
him in the Yalley, on the day preceding that date 
General Patterson advanced his entire force from 
Martinsburg to Bunker Hill. 

Despite the example of the Faulkners, and 
others of like sympathies, there was a strong 
Union sentiment in Martinsburg; and when the 
army left the town on that fair summer morning, 
the Eleventh Pennsylvania Regiment and the 
Pirst Wisconsin each carried a beautiful national 
flag, the gift of the loyal ladies of the place, in 
acknowledgment of our first victory over the 
rebel forces at Falling Waters. 

The ashes of Jackson's camp fires were still 
warm and smouldering as our troops stacked 
arms on the ground recently occupied by the 
Southrons, and bivouacked for tbe night. ^sText 
day Gen. Patterson made a reconnoissance from 
Bunker Hill toward Winchester. The roads were 
strongly barricaded at every available point, caus- 
ing frequent halts to remove the trees that had 
been felled across the highway, and to fill up the 
ditches, with which Johnson hoped to impede the 
passage of artillery. Four miles from Winches- 
ter the column came to a final halt. The enemy 
occupied the town in large numbers, and with- 
out waiting for him to come out from his in- 
trenchments, Patterson returned to Bunker Hill. 

The same day General McDowell began his 



32 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



movement against Manassas. On the ITth, Gen- 
eral Scott telegraphed to Patterson that Mc- 
Dowell's first day's work had driven the enemy 
beyond Fairfax Court House, and that in all prob- 
ability Manassas Junction would be carried on 
the following morning. 

Up to that time, General Patterson had im- 
plicitly obeyed the orders of his superior officer. 
Feeling himself unable to attack the rebel gen- 
eral in his strong position, by a well-maintained 
show of opposition, Johnson was kept in his 
front, and could not reach Manassas, even if dis- 
posed to move in that direction, in less than three 
days. There was no longer any seeming occa- 
sion for keeping his troops on a false line, or of 
maintaining communications running through a 
country in active sympathy with the rebellion, 
and at any moment liable to interruption ; and 
on the morning of July 17th Patterson retired 
from Bunker Hill to Charlestown. 

From the fording of the Potomac at Williams- 
port to Bunker Hill, the enemy had retired be- 
fore us ; and when the troops began to move on 
that Wednesday morning, ignorant of the plans 
of the commander, a battle in front of Winches- 
ter was not only desired, but confidently expected 
by the rank and file of the Federal army. The 
first five or six miles of the march looked as 
though we w^ere threatening to fall on the enemy's 
right flank, but toward noon the column changed 



OCCUPATION OF CHARLESTOWN. 33 



front, and moved in the direction of Charlestown. 
From Bunker Hill to Winchester is thirteen 
miles — from Charlestown to Winchester is twenty 
miles ; and without knowing the relative geo- 
graphical positions of the different places, the sol- 
diers looked upon the movement as a retreat 
without a pursuing foe. Murmurs of discontent, 
audible to every ear, ran along the line, and the 
reproach visited upon the commanding general 
was without stint or measure. 

The Army of the Upper Potomac presented a 
woe-begone appearance on its arrival at Charles- 
town. The vanguard that entered the place 
might well have been taken for the ghosts of 
John Brown's raiders, had they carried pikes in 
their hands instead of bristling muskets. Entire 
regiments were without shoes and without coats, 
while the nether garments of many of the men 
were out at the knees and out at the seat, flaunt- 
ing their shoddy fragments in the breeze, or else 
presenting the rents closed up with patches of 
canvas torn from dilapidated tents. 

The Federal occupation of Charlestown broke 
up the innocent business of a band of secession 
militia, engaged in pressing into the rebel ser- 
vice the young men of the surrounding district. 
It also had the good effect of sending many of 
its principal citizens on a reluctant pilgrimage 
further South. From this securer base, and on 
a line far more advantageous as it was supposed, 



34 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



General Patterson began at once active prepara- 
tions to attack Winchester. 

In one week the term of enlistment of eigh- 
teen regiments — full three-fourths of the army — 
would expire. An appeal was made to the 
troops to remain ten days longer, and from the 
spirit thus far manifested by them, a hearty re- 
sponse was anticipated. But the men had become 
dissatisfied, and only three Pennsylvania regi- 
ments — the Eleventh, the Fifteenth, and the 
Twenty-fourth — declared their mllingn ess to stay. 
Patterson was now powerless to do anything, and 
the army lay idle at Charlestown awaiting orders 
from Washington. 

While these delaj'S and disappointments in the 
Army of the Upper Potomac were causing heart- 
burnings and bitter criminations, the nation was 
nearing the first great calamity of the war. Mc- 
Dowell did not carry Manassas Junction on the 
18th of July, as General Scott had so confidently 
expected; and the battle of Bull Run was not 
fought until the 21st. Meanwhile, in answer to 
an urgent call from the rebel government to 
hasten to the assistance of Beauregard, Johnson 
quietly withdrew his forces from Winchester, 
and marching toward Manassas, arrived on the 
afternoon of the engagement at the moment to 
turn the tide of battle, and change what prom- 
ised a victory to the Federal arms into defeat and 
disastrous rout. 



II. 



CHAPTER L 

THE EEBELLION IN A NEW PHASE. 

The rebellion assumed a different shape in the 
eyes of the country after the battle of Bull Run. 
The huge proportions to which it afterward 
grew, began then to be distinctly foreshadowed. 
Its leaders, flushed with victory, and expecting a 
speedy conquest of the North, did not hesitate 
to reveal, undisguised, the spirit of prejudice 
and hate that conceived and inaugurated the 
whole secession movement. 

The three months' campaign accomplished 
comparatively little ; and closing with the defeat 
of Bull Run, seemed scarcely anything else than 
a total failure. Yet there was no abatement in 
the enthusiasm of the people ; and nowhere was 
this enthusiasm greater than among the men who 
had passed through this first campaign. Whole 
regiments, with hardly any change in their or- 
ganization, re-enlisted for the long term of three 
years, or during the war. 

On the 24th of July, the Eleventh Regiment 

(35) 



36 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



left Harper's Ferr)^ for Baltimore, en route for 
Harrisburg, where the men were mustered out 
of service. General Patterson's order for trans- 
portation was accompanied by a commendation 
of the regiment, carefully preserved among its 
papers. 

"It gives the commanding general great satis- 
faction to say, that the conduct of this regiment 
has merited his highest approbation. It had the 
fortune to be in the advance at Falling Waters, 
where the steadiness and gallantry of both officers 
and men came under his personal observation. 
They have well merited his thanks." 

Before the first term of enlistment had alto- 
gether expired, steps were tg^ken to reorganize 
the Eleventh for the three years' service. Colonel 
Jarrett submitted to G-eneral Patterson a com- 
plete regimental organization, headed by the 
name of Eichard Coulter, as Colonel. The rec- 
ommendations were heartily indorsed by the 
general, and referred to Governor Curtin for 
commissions. 

Under date of July 25th, Simon Cameron, 
Secretary of War, telegraphed to Colonel Coulter 
that his regiment was accepted for the long term 
of service. A few days later, the colonel was 
directed, by the same authority, to enter his men 
in Camp Curtin and hold them ready for march- 
ing orders, leaving an officer behind to recruit 
the several companies to the maximum standard. 



FROM CITIZEN TO SOLDIER. 



37 



Witli the many hands into which it was divided, 
it was only the work of a moment to transform 
the peaceful citizen into a soldier, of martial 
look and mien. Finely polished boots were ex- 
changed for a pair of substantial brogans, often 
without finish, and oftener without fit. Panta- 
loons of sable black, or demure brown, or sprightly 
gray, gave place to a pair of unmixed blue. The 
head that supported a luxuriant growth of chest- 
nut curls, and nodded gracefully under a shining 
beaver, first closely shorn of all capillary super- 
fluities, was incased in a cap of the smallest pat- 
tern ; while a blue coat, with an economically 
short tail, took the place of the neatly fitting 
frock. 

When the quiet citizen, thus attired, had a 
knapsack strapped upon his back, and a haver- 
sack thrown across his shoulders, with gun, can- 
teen, and cartridge box, the transformation was 
complete. He was thenceforth prepared to enter 
upon a mode of life, as different from his former 
self, as though he had entirely changed his per- 
sonal identitj^ 

Early in the month of August, Co. B, under 
command of Captain William Shanks, arrived at 
Camp Curtin. To this first company others were 
quickly added; and by the 1st of September, 
the regiment might have gone to the front with 
its full complement of men. 

In those days of intense excitement, twenty- 
4 



38 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



four hours in camp reached the hmit of any one's 
patience. Officers and men were alike clamorous 
to be sent to Washington, or anywhere else out of 
the State that danger threatened. Each one acted 
as though in fear that the rebellion might be 
crushed, and the war closed up, without giving 
him an opportunity of striking a single blow for 
the Union. 

Perhaps it was well for the Cause that it could 
not then be known how much of the dark and 
angry-looking war-cloud, that appeared above the 
Southern horizon, hung below concealed from 
human eyes. 

At no time, from August to IsTovember, were 
there less than five to ten thousand men in camp. 
But the work of assigning to regiments the in- 
numerable squads and companies into which the 
number was divided, was a slow process ; too 
slow, indeed, for the active spirits with which the 
State authorities had to deal. As a result, regi- 
mental officers took the matter of filling up their 
commands into their own hands; and as men 
were in demand, not he who knew most of 
Jomini's Art of War, or Cassey's Tactics, but 
that one who could bring with him the largest 
force of recruits, might secure any position from 
a field officer down through all the grades to a 
second lieutenant. 

Then, again, some valiant captain, anxious to 
have his favorite doctor or parson transformed 



FILLING UP REGIMENTS. 



39 



into a surgeon or a chaplain, or his patriotic friend 
made quartermaster or sutler, in consideration 
of one or the other of these positions, would 
agree to transfer his company to the regiment 
where such a place could be secured. Patriot- 
ism had gone up beyond fever heat ; and the ex- 
cessive desire to be among the foremost of the 
country's defenders must apologize for all ques- 
tionable practices. Especially as it happened, 
that when the times came that tried men — as 
come they did — the unfit stepped aside, and the 
right men gravitated into the right places. 

Though among the first of the three months' 
troops to be accepted for the long term of en- 
listment, and by the 4th of August sent its 
first recruits into camp, the Eleventh did not 
leave the State until late in I^ovember. The au- 
thorities at Harrisburg shared somewhat in the 
feelings of the citizen-soldiers. There was a pos- 
sibility that the work of putting down the rebel- 
lion would not require all the men called into 
service, and that each regiment might alike enjoy 
the fame to be achieved in actual conflict with 
the rebels, four companies, at several different 
times, were taken from the Eleventh, and given 
to other regiments that had exhausted all their 
resources for recruiting, and still remained below 
the maximum number. The grave reason for such 
ofiicial partiality was in the fact that the Eleventh 
had alreadj^ the distinguished honor of being the 



40 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



only Pennsylvania regiment that had participated 
in a battle during the three months' campaign, and 
it could therefore atfbrd to wait a longer time than 
some others for its complement of men under the 
new enlistment. 

But there was another cause for our long delay 
at Camp Curtin. All connected with the regi- 
ment desired to retain the old regimental num- 
ber — Eleventh. The men had learned to love it ; 
and, besides, there was true soldierly pride in 
wishing to be known as the Eleventh Regiment, 
— the name under which they had defeated Stone- 
wall Jackson, — won the first congratulatory order 
issued by the commander of the army of which 
they were a part, and by which the Secretary of 
War had so early accepted them for the second 
term of enlistment. 

For some reason, this very natural desire on 
the part of the regiment was strenuously opposed 
by a few of the dignitaries of the State capital. 
Early in October a flag was prepared, designating 
the regiment as the Fifty-first, but the flag was 
refused; and by way of punishing the ofiicers 
for their obstinacy in not yielding the point, they 
were kept longer in camp than would probably 
have been the case had there been less devotion 
to the old number. ' 

The dispute was at last settled by an order 
from Governor Curtin, dated TIarrisburg, Octo- 
ber 26th, 1861 : 



governor's order. 



41 



" The Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
commanded bj Colonel Coulter, will continue to 
be known as the Eleventh Regiment Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers. It is just to the officers and 
men, that the regiment should have future op- 
portunities of displaying the courage and gal- 
lantry of Falling Waters, which is now a part of 
the military history of the State, under their 
original designation." 

In everything relating to soldierly efficiency, 
our stay at Camp Curtin was beneficial. The 
drills were regular and complete. Its discipline 
was the happy medium between the liberty of 
the citizen and the strict military rule of active 
service, preparing each man gradually to forget 
the one and submit to the other. 

It also introduced us to the active sympathies 
of a band of noble women in Harrisburg, princi- 
pal among whom were Mrs. George H. Small, 
Mrs. James Denning, and Mrs. Lile Cornyn. 
The constant care of these ladies for the sick of 
the regiment in the camp hospital, and when the 
disease became serious removing the patients to 
their own houses, entitles them to our lasting 
gratitude. 

The organization of the field and stafi:* officers 
had undergone some change in the interval of six 
months, compared with that first recommended 
by Colonel Jarrett. Colonel Coulter had asso- 
ciated with him, as Lieutenant-Colonel, Thomas 
4* 



42 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



S. Martin, formerly of the Twenty-third Penn- 
sylvania Regiment; Henry A. Frink, of Phila- 
delphia, was commissioned Major; Lieutenant 
Israel Uncapher, of Co. F, Adjutant; Lieutenant 
Gr. W, Thorn, of Co. B, Quartermaster; Dr. R. 
M. S. Jackson, of Cresson, Surgeon; Dr. James 
W. Anawalt, of Greensburg, Assistant Surgeon, 
and William H. Locke, of Pittsburg, Chaplain. 



CHAPTER n. 

FROM PENNSYLVANIA TO MARYLAND. 

On the 20th of ^^"ovember, in the presence of 
a large concourse of spectators. Governor Cur- 
tin presented to the regiment the stand of colors 
provided by the State, bearing on its graceful 
folds, in bright gilt letters, " Eleventh Regiment 
Penna. Vols." Side by side with this cherished 
gift of the State was carried the flag presented 
by the ladies of Martinsburg, both alike to be 
shielded from dishonor with nothing less sacred 
than our lives. 

One week later. Colonel Coulter was ordered 
to report his regiment to General Dix, at Balti- 
more. Co. A, Captain Christian Kuhn; Co. B, 
Captain William Shanks; Co. C, Captain Jacob 



THROUGH BALTIMORE. 



43 



J. Bierer; Co. D, Captain John Knox; Co. E, 
Captain James C. McCurdy ; Co. F, Captain Da- 
vid M. Cook; Co. H, Captain Edward H. Eaucli; 
Co. I, Captain George A. Cribbs; and Co. K, 
Captain Jobn B. Keenan, took cars at the ^^orth- 
ern Central depot the same evening, leaving Co. 
G- to follow next day. 

It was hard to realize, as we marched through 
the streets of Baltimore in the early morning of 
E'ovember 28th, on our way to the wharf where 
the regiment w^as to take shipping for Annapolis, 
that we were treading the same thoro-ughfares in 
which Union soldiers, but a few months before, 
had been stoned to death. A very different re- 
ception awaited the Eleventh. Subsistence com- 
mittees met us at the cars, ready to escort us to 
the Soldiers' Home; smiling faces and waving 
handkerchiefs everywhere greeted us, as though 
Baltimore would erase all recollection of the 
hateful 19th of April. 

Late at night we disembarked at Annapolis, 
and marched to the old St. John's College. Ever 
since General Butler landed his troops at the 
mouth of the Severn River, and marched from 
thence to Washington, Annapolis had been an 
important point to the Government. At the time 
of our arrival it was an immense depot of military 
supplies, besides the rendezvous of the Burnside 
expedition, whose unknown destination lent a ro- 
mantic charm to everything connected with it. 



44 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



In the midst of the formidable array of ships 
and men that crowded the harbor and thronged 
the streets of the antique city, we found ourselves 
surrounded by associations inexpressibly dear to 
the heart of every American. We were in one 
of the oldest cities of the Union. Here was the 
State House, with a history running back to 
the days of the devolution, in which the treaty 
of peace with G-reat Britain, acknowledging our 
independence, had been ratified by Congress. 
Here Washington resigned his commission as 
commander-in-chief of the American army, and 
retired to Mount Yernon. The room has been 
preserved unchanged; and to stand upon the 
spot where Washington stood at that hour of his 
life, to look upon the same obj ects on which he had 
gazed, seemed to place one in close communion 
with the spirit of the mighty dead. It was in- 
deed singular that upon such hallowed ground 
the demon of treason should dare to manifest 
itself. 

St. John's College — in which were found ex- 
cellent quarters for men and officers, the former 
occupying the three large school edifices and the 
latter the several dwelling-houses of the profes- 
sors — was scarcely less venerable and venerated 
than the State House itself. The main building 
had been erected more than a hundred years, and 
was at first designed as the Executive Mansion 
of the State. But the General Assembly of Ma- 



ANXAPOLIS. 



45 



rylancl, in 1784, incorporated St. John's College, 
and convej-ed to the trustees the building and 
four acres of land, known as College Green. 

College G-reen was used in the revolutionary 
war as the camping-ground of the French army; 
and also by the American troops assembled in 
the war of 1812. 'Now, for the third time, it 
became a military encampment. It was not a 
foreign foe that threatened us, but those of our 
own household. Violent men were seeking to 
destroy the integrity of the republic, and the 
troops then drilling on soil already consecrated 
by the footsteps of the patriots who established 
the Government, had before them the not less 
glorious work of preserving that Government in- 
tact to those who should come after. 

During the several beautiful Sabbaths that fol- 
lowed our arrival at Annapolis, as the chaplain 
stood beneath the overhano-ins: branches of a 
venerable tree, whose age can certainly be counted 
back two hundred years, and in the midst of the 
historical associations alluded to, speaking to offi- 
cers and men in the name of Jesus, and re- 
membering that our fathers had only succeeded 
in their strus^He throuo'h the blessino; of God, 
how necessary it seemed that our cause should 
be sanctified by prayer, and that our hope of 
success be placed alone in Him. 

It would have accorded better with the incli- 
nations of all concerned had the Eleventh been se- 



46 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



lected to make a part of the Buruside expedition, 
then nearly ready to saiL But the order of Gen- 
eral Dix assigned us to duty in Annapolis. The 
duties were onerous, and more than should have 
been required of any one regiment. The city 
was furnished with a provost guard, twenty-one 
miles of railroad were protected, besides per- 
forming a large share of fatigue duty at the iTaval 
Academy, the commissary depot of the sailing 
expedition. 

A contraband trade had been kept up between 
Baltimore and Virginia through the lower coun- 
ties of Maryland, upon which we were also to 
keep an eye; as well, possibly, by our presence, 
protect the Maryland Legislature, then about to 
assemble, in its expressions of loyalty and de- 
nunciations of treason. 

Companies B, E, I, and K were sent out on the 
railroad, while the other five companies (Co. Gr 
having failed as yet to report) made up the pro- 
vost guard, and all the details for duty elsewhere. 
The guard-house was in the old city ball-room, 
one of the historic places of Annapolis. Older 
than the State House, it had been used as the 
legislative hall during the erection of that build- 
ing; while the supper-room was formerly the 
revenue office of the province. The walls were 
still decorated hj portraits of Lord Baltimore 
and several of the former Governors of Mary- 
land. Those gentlemen of the olden time seemed 



ANNAPOLIS. 



47 



strangely out of place in the crowd of unruly 
soldiers that the Provost Marshal, Captain Ja- 
cob J. Bierer, almost nightly provided with lodg- 
ings in that room. 

Everything looked as though the regiment 
would pass the winter in Annapolis, and our 
plans were made with a view to patient submis- 
sion. The men guarding the railroad were ap- 
parently satisfied with their part of the contract, 
and those in quarters had no more complaints 
than are usual to a soldier. The trustees of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church kindly offered us the 
use of their house, where religious services were 
held every Sabbath afternoon, a hospital tent, 
then out of use, serving as a chapel for week- 
night meetings. 

E'or was the service required entirely devoid of 
the kind of excitement so essential to the volun- 
teer. The companies on the railroad found am- 
ple exercise for all their vigilance in the number 
of passing trains, and in the travel in private con- 
veyance to and fro along their lines. The guard 
in town was not less active, keeping a sharp look- 
out that no suspicious craft or contraband cargo 
was permitted to escape from the harbor. 

Governor Hicks, Speaker Berry of the House of 
Delegates, Judge Brewer, and other prominent cit- 
izens, gave us special personal attention, and con- 
tributed greatly to our social enjoyment. Through 
the efforts of such men as these, who nobly 



48 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



breasted the tide of disloyalty and treason, at one 
time setting in hard against her, Maryland es- 
caped the desolation and ruin that have swept 
over her sister State of Virginia. 

Western boys, such as composed the Eleventh, 
had no sympathies in common with those who 
could find apologies for secession and rebellion. 
Maryland had not then accepted the logic of 
events, nor declared herself a free State ; and 
occasionally a rampant Southron was to be met, 
whose zeal for the South was greater than his 
discretion. The Articles of War forbade politi- 
cal discussions by any in the service. But more 
than one of those blatant apologists of wrong 
found that Union soldiers had a way of their own 
of settling disputed points, without violating the 
letter of military law; and that the hard fist of 
a E'orthern yeoman struck out from the shoulder 
was an argument by no means easy to oppose. 

The chaplain was in duty bound to be less 
demonstrative, even at the risk of being less con- 
vincing. But as a compensation, he had oppor- 
tunities of learning the true sentiments of many 
leading citizens. One gentleman, himself a 
slaveholder, who frequently visited at regimental 
headquarters, though heartily condemning the 
rebellion, could not but blame the l^orth for an 
impertinent interference in the affairs of the 
South. Servitude, in his opinion, was the nor- 
mal condition of the black man, and it was only 



MASTER AND SLAVE. 



49 



a false philanthropy to attempt to place him 
anywhere else. 

"But why not hire the negro, and pay him 
stated wages ?" 

"Because it won't do, sir. I have been in 
public life for more than twenty-five years, and 
pretend to know something about this matter ; 
and I give it to you as my decided opinion that 
the scheme is not practicable. Hired blacks, or 
free blacks, are too lazy to work, and you cannot 
coerce them. We must either have absolute con- 
trol of them, such as ownership gives, or dispense 
with their labor altogether. Take the cultiva- 
tion of tobacco, for instance. There are particu- 
lar times when a delay of two hours would ruin 
the crop. How could we then go round gather- 
ing up hands ? And knowing him as we do, who 
would trust to a hired negro in such an emer- 
gency ? ]^o, sir ; it will not do. And we find 
fault with you men of the ]^orth, because you will 
meddle with a thing you do not understand." 

"We ventured the remark, that there were men 
at the i^orth who did not so much oppose the 
peculiar institution of slavery, as the many and 
great evils connected with it; and to mention 
no other, the breaking up of the family, in the 
separation of husband and wife, and of parent 
and child. 

" Well, sir, we have nothing of that kind in 
Maryland, except in very rare cases. I have had 

5 



50 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



some experience in settling up estates ; and where 
negroes are to be sold in this State, they almost 
invariably select their own masters. Let me give 
you an illustration. A friend of mine owned a 
black man, whose son belonged to another part 
of the estate. A death occurring, the estate was 
to be sold, servants and all. Some time before 
the sale, the boy came to my friend with the re- 
quest that he would buy him. The gentleman 
did not need him at the time, and so gave an 
evasive answer. But when the day of sale came 
round, of the several persons who really wanted 
Jack, not one of them could get him to say he 
would go to live with him. *Massa Judge Du- 
vall is gwine to buy me,' was the negro's reply; 
and as no one else would bid for him, the Judge 
was obliged to take him. So, in almost every 
instance, they select their own masters, and very 
rarely, in this State, are families divided by sale." 

'New ideas have been developed since the con- 
versation of that afternoon in March, 1862. 
Maryland is a free State ; and upon her own soil 
the practicability of free black labor has been 
clearly demonstrated. 



IHE MBRRIMAC. 



61 



CHAPTER III. 

SIDE ISSUES OF THE CONFLICT. 

Many bright days visited us during that winter 
in Annapolis, when a ride to the camp of the Ira 
Harris Cavahy, or along the South Eiver, or 
wherever else inclination might suggest, was a 
charming relief from the monotony of life in 
quarters. iTor were we so far from the front as 
to be undisturbed by the passing events of the 
great conflict. 

It was on a Sunday afternoon, just after reli- 
gious services had commenced, that an order was 
received at the church from General Hatch, com- 
manding the post, requiring one company, fully 
armed and equipped, to report at headquarters 
for special duty. It was well that all the facts in 
the case did not come out at once, or the chap- 
lain could scarcely have kept the attention of his 
remaining audience. 

The iron-clad Merrimac, with which the rebels 
had been threatening our navy for months, had 
actually encountered and sunk the frigates Con- 
gress and Cumberland, and was reported to have 
passed Fortress Monroe with a fleet of gun- 
boats. Great excitement prevailed throughout 



52 



STORY OF THE KEGIMENT. 



the city, every one supposing the vessel would 
sail dii^ect to Annapolis, for the purpose of cap- 
turing the extensive commissary stores in depot. 

Company A was sent down the bay on the 
steamer Gr. A. Warner to watch the movements 
of the iron-clad, and to give notice of her first 
approach. All the steamers in port were ordered 
to Baltimore, as in case of attack the harbor of 
Annapolis was without adequate defense ; while 
many of the citizens were preparing to fly at the 
moment of certain danger. But most oppor- 
tunely, a new opponent appeared in the shape 
of a Monitor, to contest the further advance of 
the formidable adversary. After a severe strug- 
gle of three hours, the Merrimac gave up the 
tight, and in a disabled condition returned to 
Norfolk. 

When the alarm had ceased, and all things 
once more assumed their quiet ways, one family 
at least, found itself greatly benefited by the 
threatened visit of the rebel iron-clad. Among 
the domestics of that household is one who bears 
the not very poetical name of Jane. She is de- 
cidedly hard to manage, and a source of great 
vexation to the female portion of the family. 
Various and novel have been the ways resorted 
to in order to bring her to terms. A year or two 
before, a negro man was hanged for some crime, 
and among those sent tu see the sight, for the 
good it might do, was Jane. But strange to say, 



THE SUBDUED DOMESTIC. 



53 



not the least impression was made upon the 
incorrigible colored girl. Hanging is not an 
everyday affair, and it is hard to tell whether, 
in course of time, the effect on Jane might not 
be all that is desired. Up to that eventful Sun- 
day afternoon, the only thing that subdued the 
unruly and wayward domestic, was to sing: 

"Hark from the tombs, a doleful sound." 

Whenever coaxing and driving and the whip 
failed in their efforts, some one of the family 
struck up the notes of this funeral hymn. 

With what imaginary terrors Jane had invested 
the Merrimac, the family did not care to inquire. 
But it was soon discovered that a threatened visit 
from the hideous monster, whatever the terror 
might be, was a source of alarm as potent as that 
of singing the hymn ; and as the new remedy 
admitted of an easier application than the old 
one, it was ever after adopted to quiet into obe- 
dience the obstreperous Jane. 

Attachment to place does not belong to the 
volunteer soldier. No matter how comfortably 
he may be quartered, or what advantage the 
locality may possess, a few days satisfy him ; and 
an order to strike tents, though full of uncertainty 
as to where they shall be pitched again, is re- 
ceived with joy. When the Second Maryland 
Regiment relieved us of duty on the railroad, 
and the men were ordered to prepare for a speedy 
5* 



54 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



move, there were no regrets expressed in parting 
with the jBne accommodations and numerous ad- 
vantages of Annapolis. 

General Burnside was to be reinforced. Al- 
ready several spirited engagements had taken 
place, achieving important victories for the 
Union cause on the i^orth Carolina coast. Much 
remained yet to be done ; and though not per- 
mitted to take part in the first operations, there 
was every prospect that we should be in time for 
these later movements. But after days of ex- 
pectation and waiting for the order to embark for 
i^orth Carolina, the regiment was sent back to 
guard the Annapolis railroad. 

To make matters still more unsatisfactory, the 
Second Maryland at once took shipping for For- 
tress Monroe, General Burnside having especi- 
ally named it as the regiment at Annapolis he 
desired to have sent to him. The general fell fully 
one-half in our estimation. We forgot our early 
association with him on the Upper Potomac, and 
seriously doubted the abilities of an officer hav- 
ing so little discernment as to prefer the Second 
Maryland to the Eleventh Pennsylvania. 

When the whole truth came out, it was found 
that at the personal request of a number of prom- 
inent, citizens, who preferred to have a Pennsyl- 
vania rather than a Maryland regiment quartered 
among them, the order for the removal of the 
Eleventh had been countermanded. Cos. C, D, 



DEPARTURE FOR WASHINGTON. 



55 



F, and H took the stations B, E, I, and K had 
formerly occupied on the railroad, while Co. A 
was sent to do guard duty at Friendship, twenty- 
five miles down the Chesapeake Bay. 

Several changes occurred among the commis- 
sioned officers during our sojourn in the capital 
of Maryland. The vacancy occasioned in Co. 
B, by the appointment of Lieutenant Gr. W. 
Thorn Regimental Quartermaster, was filled by 
promoting Second Lieutenant B. F. Haines to be 
first lieutenant, and Sergeant George Tapp to be 
second lieutenant. Captain Knox, of Co. D, 
while absent on recruiting service, died at his 
home in Jersey Shore. Governor Curtin com- 
missioned W. E. Sees, of Harrisburg, to fill the 
vacancy, who proved himself an officer every 
way worthy and competent. 

In Co. F, Sergeant Michael J. Kettering was 
promoted to be first lieutenant, in place of Israel 
Uncapher, appointed adjutant; Sergeant-Major 
Edward H. Gay to be second lieutenant, in place 
of Lieutenant W. McCutcheon, who died in camp 
of disease contracted in the service. 

The evacuation of Centerville and Manassas 
Junction by the rebels, and the landing of a large 
Federal force on the Yorktown peninsula, caused 
nesv combinations of troops to be made through- 
out the whole theater of war; and during the 
afternoon of April 9th, the cars that were to trans- 
port us to Washington switched off' in front of 
our quarters. 



56 



STOEY OF THE REGIMENT. 



The embarking of eight hundred men, with 
tents, baggage, and quartermaster's stores, con- 
sumed what was left of daylight. With night 
came the most violent snow-storm of the season, 
blocking up the railroad, and holding us fast 
on the track a few miles from the place of starting 
until the next morning. It was a freak of the 
weather never before known in that latitude. 
But the warm April sun soon melted the snow, 
and by the time we reached Washington every 
vestige of the winter storm had disappeared. 

Soldiers' Home, as the large white-washed 
buildings at the railroad station were called, good 
enough in itself, was but a poor substitute for the 
excellent quarters vacated in St. John's College. 
But every day was so full of conflicting rumors 
that the style of our quarters, and even the qual- 
ity of the rations, Avere forgotten in the uncer- 
tainty of our destination. 

The one event that gave character to our short 
stay in Washington was the review of the Elev- 
enth by President Lincoln. A special invitation 
was sent to Colonel Coulter to march his regi- 
ment to the White House. An hour later, 
donning the new clothes issued to them by the 
quartermaster, our boys were marching up Penn- 
sylvania Avenue. Standing on the steps of the 
Executive Mansion, as we then saw him in the 
clear light of that 15th of April, with head un- 
covered, and a kindly smile playing over his face, 



REVIEW BY THE PRESIDENT. 



57 



bowing to the ranks of men that passed in review 
before him, is associated our most vivid recollec- 
tion of Abraham Lincoln. 

The next day the regiment took boat for Alex- 
andria, and from thence was transported by rail 
to Manassas Junction. 



CHAPTER lY. 

FROM MARYLAND TO VIRGINIA. 

Manassas was the name formerly given to a 
small village and railroad station at the junction 
of the Alexandria and Orange and the Manassas 
Gap Railroads. ]S"ow it is applied indiscrimi- 
nately to a section of country several miles in 
extent. ITothing was left of the village but con- 
fused heaps of bricks and mortar, while either 
side of the railroad, for miles in extent, was 
blackened with the charred remains of camp 
equipage, baggage and stores, that the rebels, for 
want of transportation, had been compelled to 
destroy. 

The Manassas Gap Road extends from its in- 
tersection with the Alexandria and Orange Road, 
through Front Royal to Strasburg, in the Shen- 
andoah Valley. Important co-operative move- 



58 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



ments were in contemplation from all points 
upon Richmond, making it necessary that this 
line of communication should be kept open. The 
construction corps was already at work repairing 
damages and rebuilding the bridges across the 
Shenandoah River, while a guard sufficient to 
protect the road from guerrilla attacks extended 
along its entire length. 

The Eleventh was placed on duty between Ma- 
nassas Junction and White Plains, a distance of 
twenty-two miles. Major Frink, with Cos. B, C, 
and D, was stationed at White Plains ; Co. E at 
Broad Run ; Co. K at Thoroughfare Gap ; Co. I 
at an intermediate point between K and H ; Co. 
H at Hayraarket; Co. F at Gainesville, and Co. A 
between F and the Junction. Regimental head- 
quarters were at Manassas, as here a general depot 
of supplies had been established, and direct tele- 
graphic communication with the department at 
Washington. 

White Plains, Hay market, and Gainesville are 
small villages, rescued from oblivion by the 
fierce engagements associated with their names. 
Thoroughfare Gap is a rocky chasm in the Bull 
Run Mountains. Through this natural cut the 
railroad passes, and Broad Run, a limpid stream 
on whose banks are several valuable mills, also 
finds a passage through the gap to the Potomac. 

The companies at all the several points had the 
same instructions issued to them : ''To prevent the 



MANASSAS GAP RAILROAD. 



59 



destruction of the track, or any property or stock 
belonging to the road ; to see that the track is kept 
clear, and bridges folly protected; to prevent 
depredations on the private property of citizens; 
all suspicious persons to be carefully examined, 
and if circumstances warrant, to be sent to head- 
quarters, especially all mounted men found with 
arms near the road or any of the pickets." 

The duty required on the Manassas road, 
though the same in kind as that performed at 
Annapolis, was more exciting because demand- 
ing greater vigilance. 

We had passed from comparatively loyal Mary- 
land into positively disloyal Virginia, where the 
most peaceable citizen was ready to strike a blow 
secretly, when he could not do so openly. Guard 
duty assumes a very different character under 
such surroundings. It loses every feature of mo- 
notony ; and if the ears of the picket do not put 
on the dimensions of those of the rabbit, he has 
at least all the acuteness of hearing accredited to 
that watchful little quadruped. The gentlest 
zephyr does not loosen from its stem a solitary 
leaf without arresting his attention, while his eye 
possesses such magic power that many times a 
moss-grown stump, or a stray horse, has been 
metamorphosed into an armed rebel. 

Co. H was stationed at Haymarket. It was 
known that several of Ashby's Cavalry had re- 
sided in the town, and a strict guard was kept 



60 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



over all the inhabitants. Toward twelve o'clock 
of a particular night, when quiet reigned through- 
out the quarters of Co. H, and all were wrapped 
in soundest sleep save the trusty sentinel, whose 
duty it was to watch for danger, an unusual com- 
motion was observed throughout the village. The 
bright light in one house, that had first attracted 
the notice of the guard, was soon seen in several 
others. The captain was aroused, and having 
satisfied himself that something more than ordi- 
nary was going on, the men were ordered to fall 
into line with the utmost dispatch and quiet. In 
a moment sixty men, with guns and cartridge- 
boxes, stood in their places. All could now see 
lights flickering in half a dozen windows, and 
even the fast trotting of horses was distinctly 
heard. 

It was enough. Either Ashby meditated an 
assault on Co. H, or else some of his bold parti- 
sans were on a visit to friends. But, in the pres- 
ent state of affairs, a visit could not be allowed, and 
an assault must be resisted. The plan of attack 
was to surround the town, and then close in toward 
that point where suspicion seemed the strongest. 

By the time these arrangements were completed, 
all the lights had disappeared, except in the win- 
dows of a single house, and at this one the sev- 
eral squads into which the company had been 
divided at last met. The captain boldly entered, 
demanding the surrender of the impertinent foe 



THE MIDNIGHT ALARM. 



61 



who liad dared to plot miscliief at such an un- 
seasonable hour. A small man, with spectacles 
on his nose, and of demeanor far too quiet for a 
soldier, made his appearance. In answer to the 
captain, he announced himself a physician, called 
on professional business; and that the good peo- 
ple of the house were rejoicing in a small addition 
to the male department of the family. 

Early in the month of May, a citizen brought 
information to White Plains that two deserters 
from the Union army had taken possession of 
a forsaken residence, some miles distant in the 
direction of Warrenton, and were threatening 
the lives of all around them. 

It was feared that the story might be intended 
to entrap our men; but a detachment sufficiently 
strong to protect itself, was sent out under com- 
mand of Captain Sees. When the party came 
near the house, a squad of cavalry, drawn up in 
line of battle, was in full view. Selecting the 
best possible position of defense, Captain Sees 
awaited the result of what he now felt certain 
to be a scheme to capture himself and men. In 
a little while, two horsemen rode out from the 
line, waving their hats. At first no attention 
was paid to the movement; but as the cavalrymen 
continued to advance, the captain stepped for- 
ward to meet them, when they were found to be 
a part of Colonel Geary's command, stationed at 
Salem, and out on the same errand as himself. 

6 



62 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



ComiDg up to the house, the cavalry discov- 
ered that a party of citizens had anticipated them ; 
and in their attack upon the deserters, one of 
them had been killed, hut at a loss of two of their 
own number, of whom was Mr. Scott, a prominent 
citizen of Warrenton and a leading member of 
the bar. The surviving deserter made good his 
escape. 

The next day after the afiair, the reported de- 
serter came to Captain Keenan's quarters at 
Thoroughfare Gap, and gave himself up. He 
and his companion belonged to the Seventh Wis- 
consin Regiment. While on picket duty, they 
had been captured by Ashby's cavalry; but mak- 
ing their escape in a few days after, were leisurely 
getting back to Warrenton to join their regiment. 
The only depredations committed were for some- 
thing to eat. When attacked by the party of 
citizens, only one of them was in the house, the 
other being some distance from it. The man on 
the outside was without arms of any kind, and 
surrounded by half a score of men. But instead 
of attempting to secure him as a prisoner, and 
return him to his regiment, he was shot dead, 
three balls entering the body. His companion 
witnessed the whole scene, and having both guns 
in his possession, and anticipating a similar fate, 
fired each from an open window with fatal effect. 

The prisoner was retained in our *possession 
until we reached Falmouth, and then sent to Gen- 
eral McDowell's headquarters. 



A CLERICAL CAPTIVE. 



63 



Colonel Coulter's stringent order to arrest all 
mounted citizens, found with arms near our lines, 
was not based entirely upon suspicion. Several 
men of Colonel Grea#j's command liad already 
been murdered on picket; a fact that fully re- 
vealed the animus of the people around us. Some 
of the arrests may have caused great personal 
inconvenience; but the convenience of the few 
had to be sacrificed to the safety of the many. 

A clergyman of the Southern Methodist 
Church, named Williams, and in charge of War- 
renton Circuit, was among those arrested and 
brought to headquarters at Manassas. He was 
quite indignant that our pickets should molest 
Mm; but when questioned as to the propriet}^ of 
carrying a loaded revolver in his saddle pockets, 
he could give no satisfactory answer. In respect 
for his profession, the clerical captive, instead of 
being placed in the guard-house, was handed over 
to the charge of the chaplain, who tried to make 
him feel that he had fallen into the hands of 
generous captors. We gave him supper, shared 
with him our blankets when night came on, and 
breakfast in the morning. The colonel having 
assured himself, by telegraphing to Warrenton, 
that Mr. Williams was practicing no imposition, 
he was at once released, and furnished with a 
pass through our lines; leaving his carnal weap- 
ons in the hands of the soldier who made the 
arrest. 



64 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



JSTo class of men did more to embitter the 
Southern feeling, and urge on to open rebellion? 
than the ministers of the Southern Methodist 
Church. Mr. Williams was present at the con- 
ference that met in Norfolk. The iron-clad 
Merrimac was nearly finished, and the entire 
conference, by special invitation, paid a visit to 
the vessel as she lay in her moorings. Speeches 
were made in the highest style of secession elo- 
quence; hopes w^ere expressed, and prayers offered 
up for the success of the huge monster in her 
work of ruin and death. Many of these men, 
foi^aking the peaceful calling of the gospel, took 
the sword, and by the sword they perished. 
Othei^ of them, through the madness of rebellion, 
drifting away from the principles and practices 
of the religion of Christ, are now moral wrecks, 
stranded on the shores of time. 



BULL RUN BATTLE-FIELD. 



65 



CHAPTEK y. 

MANASSAS JUNCTION AND ITS ENVIRONS. 

At Manassas we were in the vicinity of the 
Bull Run battle-field. 'Not curiosity only, but 
such an interest in that event as nearly related 
us to the actors, prompted an early visit. 

E^ear regimental headquarters was Fort Beau- 
regard, a large and formidable earth-work; while 
at different points on the Manassas plain, and in 
commanding positions, were several other works 
of lesser magnitude. Two miles distant, on the 
road to Centerville, stood the large brick man- 
sion of Mr. Weir, Beauregard's headquarters. 
Here the Confederate general and his staff re- 
mained during the attack at Blackburn's Ford, 
July 18th, which so greatly deranged the plans 
of McDowell, who intended that General Tyler 
should make a mere feint movement at that point, 
while the main force was making the transit of 
Bull Run at the Stone Bridge and further up to 
the right. 

Crossing Bull Run at Blackburn's Ford, where 
the stream is perhaps fifty yards wide, we rode to 
Centerville. The whole intermediate space of ter- 
6* 



66 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



ritory Avas a chain of breast-works and fortifica- 
tions. Eveiything that industry and skill could 
devise to make Manassas impregnable was done; 
and if General McClellan had marched from 
Washington direct upon those works, in the 
opening of the spring of 1862, after- having al- 
lowed the rebels so long a time to perfect them, 
it would have been a disastrous undertaking. 

Turning from Centerville, we continued our 
ride along the Warrenton pike to Stone Bridge. 
It is the highway across Bull Run, the northern 
bank of which is a steep, rocky bluff. In that 
direction our forces were retreating on the 21st 
of July; and standing on the spot, one could 
easily imagine how the blockading of the bridge 
by broken-down wagons and abandoned gun- 
carriages, would worse confound the scattered 
ranks of a retreating army. 

On the south side of the bridge, and ascending 
a gentle slope, we were in full view of every 
point of the battle-field, from right to left. E"ear 
by is the dwelling of Henry Robinson. The old 
negro man remained in his house during the 
engagement of July 21st, though it was struck 
several times, and in one instance a cannon ball 
passed directly through its walls. "When asked 
why he did not leave and seek a safer place, he 
replied : 

"You see, massa, dey had no safe places dat 
day. Ole Henry 'spected to git killed anyhow, 



BULL RUN BATTLE-FIELD. 



67 



and lie tink he jist as lief die in de ole house as 
anywhare else." 

After the defeat of the Federal army, Manas- 
sas became a spot of great interest to Southern- 
ers, who visited it in large numbers. The old 
man's house stood so near where the principal 
engagement took place that no one came to 
the battle-field without making him a visit. He 
entertained us for a long time with the opinions 
and remarks of rebel ofiicers, as he had often 
heard them express themselves, in reference to 
that battle. All agreed that early in the day 
Beauregard acknowledged himself defeated, and 
would have retreated but for Johnson, who, ar- 
riving on the ground some hours before his army, 
urged him to hold on until his forces should come 
up. The arrival of several thousand fresh troops 
was more than our exhausted men could endure. 
Still, at the first, they retired in good order; the 
panic which resulted so disastrously having oc- 
curred far in the rear of that part of the army 
actually engaged with the enemy. 

In the sickening details of a hundred battles, 
the country has not forgotten the indignities 
offered to our killed and wounded on this first 
field. Many of its dead were left unburied, as 
the bleached human bones lying on the surface 
too plainly declared, while of those buried, arms 
and limbs and heads were seen projecting from 
the shallow graves. 



68 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Every available spot of the country over which 
we passed had been used as a camp. The quar- 
ters were comfortable log cabins with clap-board 
roofs, indicating that a large army, well cared 
for, had spent the winter at Manassas. 

The village of White Plains escaped, in a great 
measure, the devastation of Manassas. It was 
the location of the rebel general hospital, and the 
numerous graves on the hillside above the town 
truthfully told how severely the enemy suftered 
in his first great battle, and that fell disease, during 
the long winter months, had almost decimated en- 
tire regiments. 

Several brothers by the name of Foster, the 
owners of valuable estates, resided in the village. 
Colonel Ashby lived at Markham, some miles 
distant up the railroad, but his famous cavalry 
troop, that afterward degenerated into Moseby's 
guerrillas, was made up of the best young men of 
this and the adjoining neighborhoods. For a 
number of years tournaments, with Col. Ashby 
at their head, pronounced the best equestrian 
in Virginia, were among the chief attractions 
of Warrenton Springs. The young men of the 
vicinity became most expert horsemen, and when 
the war broke out, the Colonel had a troop of 
unequaled riders ready at hand. 

In company with Dr. Jackson and Captain 
Shanks, the chaplain found a home for several 
days at the house of Thomas Foster, the Quar- 



ABSCONDING DARKIES. 



69 



termaster of Aslibj's Cavalry. The family con- 
sisted of the wife, two daughters, and an elderly 
uncle, their only male protector. It was to be 
expected that there would be more or less re- 
straint in our social intercourse with those whose 
dearest friends we could only regard as our bitter 
enemies. But underneath all the studied polite- 
ness of which we were the recipients in that ele- 
gant residence, there was a stratum of the old 
Virginia hospitality that nothing but the actual 
existence of war could keep from coming to the 
surface. 

Whatever was once said of the masses of the 
South not understanding the questions at issue 
between the two sections of the country, at no 
time could it ever apply to the more intelligent 
portions. The doctrine of State rights had been 
thoroughly studied and as heartily believed. In 
their libraries and on their tables were to be 
found the works of I^ott and Gliddon, and Mor- 
ton, plausible theories, all going to prove that 
the white man and the negro are of distinct 
races ; that the negro belongs to an inferior order 
of beings, and finds his proper condition only in 
subjection to the superior. With this class of 
persons the war was a contest of ideas, thoroughly 
understood because thoroughly studied. 

At an early period in the war Alexandria came 
to be regarded as the negro's paradise. Without 
newspapers or telegraph, he soon learned that to 



70 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



reach that point was to be no longer a slave. 
White Plains was the general rendezvous of ab- 
sconding negroes for a large section of country, 
and scarcely a train of cars passed down the road 
without its complement of human freight. Some- 
times they came to the station in pairs, and again 
in squads, big and little, old and young, carrying 
all their worldly possessions, rolled up in bundles, 
on their heads, or slung across their shoulders, 
having little conception of where they were go- 
ing — except to some wonderful place called Alex- 
andria — or what they would do. They knew 
they would he free, and that fact answered every 
question. 

On one particular day a motley group of them, 
not less than twenty in all, came to White Plains 
in an ox-cart. Scarcely had they unloaded them- 
selves on the platform, when a panting and foam- 
ing horse, carrying an excited-looking rider, stop- 
ped in front of headquarters. The man on 
horseback eagerly demanded where he might 
find the commanding officer, as he had special 
business Avith him. Every one was on the qui 
live, and with the hope that he might be the 
bearer of such stirring news as would cause a 
speedy move, the rider was directed to Major 
Frink. But his business was altogether of a per- 
sonal nature. 

" Major," said he, "those people out there, who 
have just arrived in that ox-cart, belong to me, 
and I want you to compel them to return home." 



ABSCONDING DAEKIES. 



71 



*'Well, sir," replied the major, "that kind of 
work is not exactly in my line. If your people 
wish to return home, not a man of my command 
will interfere ; but if they do not desire to re- 
turn, so far from compelling them myself, I can- 
not even allow their owner to compel them." 

The Virginian was not satisfied with the ma- 
jor's decision, and inquired where he might find 
the commander of the regiment. He was in- 
formed that regimental headquarters were at 
Manassas Junction, and as his slaves had already 
got aboard of the train, which in the mean time 
had come up to the station, their owner took a 
place near them. 

But it so happened that while conductors of 
trains were directed to allow all negroes free pas- 
sage to Alexandria, without let or hinderance, no 
white person could travel over the road, to any 
point whatever, without a pass from the nearest 
post commander. In the hurry to keep in sight 
of his property, the white man had forgotten this 
salutary arrangement. When the train was ready 
to start the conductor politely told him that he 
could not carry him to Manassas without a pass 
from Major Frink. Enraged beyond endurance, 
and too haughty to ask permission to ride where 
his slaves could go with impunity, he left the 
train, people and all, swearing bitter vengeance 
against the whole !N"orth. 

Many furtive glances, mingled with evident 



72 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



fear and dread, had been cast by the fugitives at 
their old master. But when they saw him stand, 
ing on the platform, and felt the train mo\^ng on 
the iron track beneath them, the comical shrug 
of the shoulder, and the laugh-provoking grin 
that spread over their ebony faces, were silent 
expressions of joy at the sudden breaking of 
life-long bonds. 



CHAPTER VI. 

MARCHING SOUTHWARD. 

An order from Greneral Hartsuff, directing Col- 
onel Coulter to report his command at Falmouth, 
indefinitely postponed several proposed expedi- 
tions from different company stations in search 
of Ashby's Cavalry. 

The march from Manassas, on the 12th of May, 
was our first going afoot. Hitherto the regiment 
had been transported in cars or on steamboats. 
During the campaigns that followed, the men re- 
peatedly traveled twenty to thirty miles a day, 
but the sore feet, and the weary lengths to which 
those ten miles of that breaking in march stretched 
themselves, are remembered to this hour. 

The route over which we passed — by way of 



FREDERICKSBURG. 



T3 



Catlett's Station, Bristersburg, and Hartwood 
Churcli — became the track of the army in its 
after surges back and forth between Washington 
and the Rappahannock. Then but few troops 
had marched that way, and the country was lux- 
uriating in the undisturbed beauties of early 
spring. Handsome residences lined the roadside, 
while the first view of Fredericksburg, and those 
hights that are now historic, was enchanting. 
In three deijs after leaving Manassas Junction 
the Eleventh reported to Greneral Hartsuff, and 
was permanently assigned to Hartsuff's Brigade 
of Ord's Division, McDowell's Corps. 

The dingy little village of Falmouth was the 
gathering place of McDowell's troops, intended 
to co-operate with McClellan against Kichmond. 
Large details of men were engaged in repairing 
the railroad from Aquia Creek, and in rebuilding 
the bridge across the Eappahannock, An ex- 
tensive foundery located in Fredericksburg, where 
shot and shell were cast for the rebel army, was 
turned into a Union workshop, as artisans of 
every kind, from the master mechanic to the 
youngest apprentice, helped to swell the ranks 
of the great Federal army. 

Fredericksburg is one of the ancient towns of 
Virginia. Walking leisurely through its clean 
and shady streets, filled wdth sauntering soldiers 
dressed in blue, there was an air of peaceful quiet 
strongly in contrast with the noisy and bustling 

7 



74 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



camps across tlie river. It was in this place that 
the mother of Washington lived during the war 
of the Revolution, and here, too, is the burial 
place of that illustrious woman. 

More than thirty years ago, a gentleman of 
I^ew York proposed, at his own expense, to erect 
a monument to the memory of Mary Washing- 
ton. The corner stone was laid near her grave 
with appropriate ceremonies by Andrew Jack- 
son, President of the United States. But after 
the work had progressed to the completion of the 
pedestal, commercial reverses overtook the pa- 
triotic designer, and the monument has never 
been finished. To show their utter contempt for 
everything Northern^ the chivalry of Fredericks- 
burg, in the preparations to defend themselves 
against the ruthless Yankee invaders, made of 
this pedestal a target for their rifle shots. With 
its face marred and indented, and the corners 
broken off by glancing balls, we could only re- 
gard it as a monument of the ingratitude and 
hate possible to the human heart. 

The denizens of the old town were amazed, 
not only at the versatility of the Yankee genius, 
but at the dreadful earnestness with which E'orth- 
ern soldiers went to work. It was almost too 
much, to believe, though seen with their own 
eyes, that in five days a railroad bridge could be 
built across the Rappahannock River. An old 
Virginia esquire, who could be seen every day 



A NIGHT MARCH. 



75 



closely watching the rapid progress of the busy 
workmen, was conquered by the first locomotive 
that went puffing and screaming over the new 
and substantial structure. 

"Don't burn anymore bridges," said he. ^'It 
is all of no use. You might just as well attempt 
to keep rats out of a meal chest, as to keep back 
these Yankees. If there is no other way of get- 
ting over rivers, they will invent a plan to fill 
their knapsacks with wind, and cross on them !" 

Everything was now in readiness for the ad- 
vance of McDowell's Corps to Hanover Court 
House, where it was to form the right wing of 
the Peninsular army. Surplus baggage had 
been sent to Washington ; immense depots of 
supplies established at Falmouth; and when, 
toward sundown of that Sabbath afternoon, May 
25th, the order to march was received, officers 
and men had marked out the course as across the 
Rappahannock and through Fredericksburg. 

But the head of the column turned in the op- 
posite direction. The bright afternoon was suc- 
ceeded by a cloudy night; and as we moved 
along in silence over those unknown Virginia 
roads, a thousand conjectures as to where we 
were going, and why we were going, floated 
through the mind. 

An hour or two after midnight the troops bi- 
vouacked, as morning revealed, near Aquia 
Creek. It then began to be known that Stone- 



76 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



wall Jackson had driven General Banks through 
the Shenandoah Valley, and across the Potomac, 
and rumor added that the rebels were threatening 
an attack on Washington, for whose defense Ord's 
Division had been ordered northward with all 
possible haste. Transports were already at the 
wharf to convey us to Alexandria, and at an 
early hour the troops began to embark. 

Aquia Creek enters into the Potomac Piver 
forty miles below Washington. The banks are 
high and precipitous; and for a long time during 
the fall and winter of 1861, the rebel guns, 
mounted on fortifications at the mouth of the 
creek, completely blockaded the Potomac. The 
position was well chosen, having command of the 
river up and down for several miles. 

It was three o'clock in the afternoon before 
our vessel steamed out into the channel ; four 
or five hours later, we were safely moored at the 
Alexandria dock. 

^Neither the sail up the river, delightful in it- 
self, nor the several points of interest to be seen, 
— among others Mount Yernon and Fort Wash- 
ington, — could keep awake troops tired and 
fatigued by the long march of the preceding 
night. All were in the proper state of body and 
mind to hear, with great complacency of feeling, 
when the steamer reached Alexandria, that we 
should remain on shipboard until morning, and 
each one adjusted himself for an undisturbed 
night's sleep. 



PURSUIT OF JACKSON. 



77 



Alas, for human expectations. In the midst 
of peaceful dreams, the command — "fall in" — 
aroused every sleeping soldier. Half an hour 
later we were moving toward the railroad depot. 
It was believed that the rebels, successful in driv- 
ing Banks across the Potomac, were concentra- 
ting large forces at Manassas Junction for an 
attack on Alexandria and the capital. 

The city was wrapt in slumber, and the only 
sound that awoke the midnight stillness was the 
measured tread of the men marching through its 
deserted streets. Long trains of cars, filled with 
soldiers, were soon moving out from the station, 
and proceeding cautiously along the road, send- 
ing out skirmishers from Union Mills, Fairfax 
Station, and Bull Run, the Division reached 
Manassas Junction a little after daylight. 

Banks had retreated before the advancing 
forces of Stonewall Jackson; and Washington 
City was in a state of feverish excitement, lest 
the next hour would bring the impetuous rebel 
thundering at its gates. But not a foe was to be 
seen near Manassas. The wily Jackson had no 
intention of coming in that direction. His flank 
movement was successfully executed. McDowell 
had been diverted from Hanover Court House, — 
a movement G-eneral Lee greatly feared, — and 
the rebel army, with all possible speed, was mak- 
ing its way down the valley toward Richmond. 

The authorities at Washington, supposing that 
1* 



78 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Jackson might be intercepted in his homeward 
march, ordered McDowell to move on to Stras- 
burg. While one column was approaching from 
the east, Fremont was to cross the mountains from 
the west, and between the upper and the nether 
mill-stone the rebel general was to suffer for his 
temerity. 

Our line of march, that commenced on the 
morning of May 29th, lay along the Manassas Gap 
Railroad. We bivouacked the first night at 
Thoroughfare Gap, and on the second night at 
Oak Hill, the birthplace and residence of Chief 
Justice Marshall. The house is in the old style 
of architecture. Antique furniture, the product 
of a past century, filled the rooms, whose walls, 
wainscoted from floor to ceiling mth polished 
oak panels, were adorned with many choice 
paintings. Here was written Marshall's Life of 
Washington. The estate is in possession of a 
grandson; but the numerous descendants of the 
chief justice residing in the neighborhood, for- 
getting the virtues of their illustrious ancestor, 
gave all their influence to break down the gov- 
ernment that Marshall labored to render firm 
and enduring. 

It was nine o'clock on the third night before 
we reached Front Royal. The march of the last 
day was long and wearisome, and for several 
hours during the latter part of it, through a vio- 
lent rain-storm. A black cloud shut out moon 



PURSUIT OF JACKSON. 



79 



and stars, and when the halt was ordered, we 
were lighted to our bivouac, in a thicket of 
pines, by vivid flashes of lightning that followed 
each other in quick succession. But much of 
the weariness of the inarch was forgotten in the 
striking beauty of the country through which we 
passed. The Blue Ridge was in sight from early 
morning, and toward evening the hills began to 
close us in on every side. An hour before sun- 
down the head of the column entered Manassas 
Gap, a break in the Blue Ridge Mountains, which 
looks like one of nature's efforts to help man. 
"Without it the mountain would be an insuperable 
barrier against railroad or stage-coach. Un- 
equaled for its wild sublimity, it was rendered 
doubly impressive by the army of men and horse 
crowding its way through the narrow defile. 

Front Royal was the scene of the gallant re- 
sistance made by Kenly's Marjdand Regiment 
against Jackson's advance guard. But before 
assistance could be sent from Strasburg, they 
were overcome by numbers, and most of the 
regiment fell on the battle-field, or into the 
hands of the enemy. 

Belle Boyd, whose subsequent career as a rebel 
spy has made her name notorious, appeared first 
at Front Royal. For several days prior to the 
attack she had been a visitor in the town, and 
through her information of the isolated position 
of Kenly's command was communicated to the 
rebel general. 



80 



STORY OF THE REaiMENT. 



The long roll of the drum early next morning 
brought each man from liis hiding-place in the 
pines, and the march was continued toward 
Strasburg. The clouds had all cleared away, and 
a bright sun shone upon mountain and valley. 
Ord's entire division had now come together. 
The beautiful morning — the picturesque sur- 
roundings — the fine appearance of the troops — 
all conspired to make a scene full of spirit and 
animation. 

The sight must have been as inspiring to Gen- 
eral McDowell, who had accompanied the divi- 
sion from Falmouth, as to others; for not more 
than three miles from our bivouac the troops 
were drawn up in line for a grand review. But 
Stonewall Jackson did not choose to wait several 
hours on our parade. While we were thus 
amusing ourselves, he was pushing rapidly south- 
ward through Strasburg, Fremont's advance com- 
ing up barely in time to exchange a few shots 
with the Confederate rear-guard. 

'Next day Hartsuff's Brigade was advanced 
across the South Fork of the Shenandoah, and 
again, on the day following, across the N^orth 
Fork, to Water-lick Station, two miles from 
Strasburg. It had rained incessantly for fort}^- 
eight hours. The Shenandoah was rapidly filling 
up its banks, and no longer fordable. The only 
bridge across the IsTorth Fork was a railroad 
bridge; and this, together with the temporary 



ESCAPE OF JACKSON. 



81 



structure across the South Fork, was yielding 
to the pressure of the angry waters. 

On the 4th of June, the brigade, then the ad- 
vance of the division, was ordered hack to Front 
Royal. To cross the several pieces of artillery 
and the wagons that had accompanied the troops, 
over the railroad bridge, was not thought possi- 
ble, and orders were given to abandon them. 
But a little practical good sense, acting outside 
of the usual routine of military operations, easily 
overcame the apparently insurmountable diffi- 
culty, saving to the government a battery of four 
guns and ten or twelve wagons, and securing the 
troops, already greatly chagrined at the escape 
of Jackson, from further mortification. A detail 
of men from the Eleventh Regiment, with the 
colonel to direct operations, denuded an adjacent 
mill and several extensive out-houses of every 
available piece of timber. In a few hours the rail- 
road bridge had a substantial flooring, over which 
artillery and wagons crossed in perfect safety. 

Stonewall Jackson succeeded in evading the 
combined forces of Fremont and McDowell to in- 
tercept his retreat ; and after severe engagements 
at Cross Keys and Port Republic, united his 
forces with those of General Lee before Rich- 
mond in time to bear a conspicuous part in the 
defeat of McClellan on the Peninsula. 

General Fremont concentrated his army in 
the Shenandoah Valley, and McDowell's Corps 
returned to Manassas. 



III. 



CHAPTER I. 

pope's VIKaiNIA CAMPAIGN. 

For the third time we pitched our tents on the 
wide-spreading plain of Manassas. But not too 
familiar did we become with the famous locality 
for the service there required of the Eleventh 
Regiment two months later. 

The last week of June was full of exciting ru- 
mors. At one time we were to take shipping for 
the Peninsula, whither the eyes of the nation 
were now turned; the next day's rumor returned 
McDowell to Fredericksburg by the overland 
route. Marching orders were received on the 
4th of July morning, not for the Peninsula, nor 
for Fredericksburg, but for Warrenton. By an 
order from Washington, read to all the troops, 
the three corps of Fremont, Banks, and McDow- 
ell were constituted the Army of Virginia, under 
command of Gleneral John Pope ; and the march 
to Warrenton was the beginning of Pope's cam- 
paign in Virgini i. 

I^ever before was there so much opposition to 
marching orders. And not much w^onder, when 
(82) 



pope's campaign begun. 



83 



the march so interfered with the grand 4th of July 
celebration, for which there had been becoming 
preparation. Camps were decorated with arches, 
and festooned with evergreens, in honor of the 
day Our friends of the Mnetieth Pennsylvania 
sent I^^orth for fire-works to enliven the evening. 
But instead of the proposed jubilee, came a swelt- 
ering march of ten miles over dusty roads, and a 
bivouac at night near the little village of Graines- 
ville. 

On the evening of the second day the troops 
encamped in sight of Warrenton. It had seen 
none of the ravages of war, and was a handsome 
Virginia town of broad, clean streets, containing 
many elegant private residences, hid in groves of 
oak and maple, or surrounded by tasteful lawns, 
ornamented with shrub and flower. 

General Blenker's troops passed through the 
place some time previous, leaving a mortal dread 
behind them of everything clad in Yankee blue. 
The general did not wait for Pope's order to sub- 
sist off the country, but supplied his men with 
whatever the merchants happened to have on 
hand. When they entered the drug stores, his 
directions were to take only the fullest jars on 
the shelves, without respect to what they con- 
tained. The general was always noted for hav- 
ing a well-stocked hospital. 

What with our shaded encampment, on a farm 
adjoining the town, and the easy duty required 
of the men, the stay at Warrenton, though of 



84 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



nearly three weeks' continuance, was without the 
usual monotony of camp life. "We had very little 
intercourse with the citizens, ^ow and then a 
gentleman was to be met who seemed disposed 
to exchange courtesies; but the bitterest of all 
rebels were the women. Our lady readers, how- 
ever, must be informed that brass buttons and 
shoulder straps were as potent in reaching the fe- 
male heart at the South as they were at the iTorth, 
and many a Southern damsel, with strong dis- 
union proclivities, has been brought to a better 
state of mind by the polite attentions of some 
gallant Yankee soldier. 

On the 22d of July, Ricketts's Division (Gen- 
eral J. B. Kicketts having succeeded General 
Ord) was moved from Warrenton to Waterloo, 
eight miles distant, on the Luray pike, where the 
road crosses the Upper Rappahannock. Waterloo 
was the site of an extensive woolen mill, manufac- 
turing large quantities of cloth for the Southern 
army. The establishment was destroyed by Gen- 
eral Banks because the proprietor, who claimed 
to be an English subject, insisted upon prose- 
cuting his contraband trade. 

Camp near Waterloo is remembered for the 
beauty of its location, and the abundant supply 
of pure cold water. When an army bivouacs for 
a night only, little attention is paid to the selec-^ 
tion of grounds. But it is very different when 
the stay is to be protracted for days or weeks. 
The selection once made, streets are laid out with 



CAMP NEAR WATERLOO. 



85 



the nicest of regularity, on either side of which 
the tents of the men are pitched in double rows, 
each row facing a street. Trenches are dug for 
purposes of drainage, unsightly objects are re- 
moved, and a neat city, with perfect uniformity 
in its buildings, both as to shape and color, springs 
up in a day. 

The picture would not be complete without a 
night scene. Each tent is then illuminated with 
the nightly allowance of two inches of candle. 
Those myriads of little lights, twinkling and 
dancing all around, often play fantastic tricks 
with the imagination of the beholder. As the 
shadows of evening hide all outward objects from 
view, how easy for the soldier to trace in those 
camp lights the streets of his own native town, 
and the very street in which he lives, and his 
own house — 

" with its light in the window," 

sure sign that the loved watcher is waiting for 
him. A loud blast from the bugle awakens the 
volunteer from his reverie. It is the signal to 
put out lights, and a moment later the beautiful 
vision has faded into darkness. 

Wednesday, July 30. — Spent most of the day 
in Warrenton, looking after the sick of the regi- 
ment, left there in hospital when we marched to 
Waterloo. Shedron, a member of Co. C, died 

8 



86 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



last night, and was buried this morning. Poor 
fellow. In my possession are several letters ad- 
dressed to him from home. What words of ten- 
derness and affection they contained, that might 
have cheered his heart, came all too late. 

General Pope arrived in town this afternoon, 
much to the displeasure of all seceshdom, but 
greatly to the joy of the whole army. We are 
hoping that he will make good the promise of a 
vigorous prosecution of the war throughout this 
Virginia valley. 

While in Warrenton, and as a member of the 
board of appraisers appointed by General Hart- 
suff*, whose business it is to assess damages done 
to the grounds upon which the brigade encamps, 
called on the proprietor of our late encamp- 
ment adjoining the town. He is a gentleman 
of fine social qualities, who made us welcome 
to his house; but, like all the rest of the promi- 
nent men of this State, violentljr opposed to the 
Federal Government. The gentleman complained 
that any damages we might assess could not be 
recovered unless he took the oath of allegiance, 
in which case he would be an alien from the State 
of Virginia, and in the event of the success of 
the South, must lose all. 

In the case of Mr. Horner, the damages as- 
sessed were larger than usual. We were three 
weeks on his estate, and one of the tenant houses, 
in which a colored man lay sick with small-pox. 



ARMY OF VIRGINIA. 



87 



and where he died, before the body was removed 
was ordered to be burned, to prevent the spread 
of the infection. 

Friday, August 1. — General John Pope, ac- 
companied by Generals McDowell and Eicketts, 
and their respective staff' officers, reviewed Hart- 
suff's Brigade at seven o'clock this morning. It 
was a very quiet review. The men do not like 
the tone of the recent orders issued by General 
Pope, nor the covert reflections on the courage 
of the eastern army, which they think those or- 
ders contain. As he sat on horseback, the gen- 
eral seemed of manners so unassuming as to 
make one wonder whether he or his adjutant, 
who appeared far more important than his supe- 
rior, had written the objectionable orders. 

The Peninsular campaign was at an end. 
General McClellan had effected a change of 
base from the York Elver to the James, concen- 
trating the remnant of his army at Harrison's 
Landing. It now became apparent what was 
expected of the Army of Virginia. Washington 
was to be protected, the Yalley of the Shenan- 
doah guarded, and by operating on the enemy's 
lines of communication toward Gordonsville, it 
was intended to draw off" a large part of Lee's 
forces from Richmond, thus enabling the Army 
of the Potomac to escape from Harrison's Land- 
ing. 



88 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



On the morning of August 4th, Ricketts's Di- 
vision broke camp at Waterloo, and marched 
for Culpeper, the first step toward Gordonsville. 
The country through which we passed was of 
rare natural beauty. Many stately mansions w^ere 
here and there to be seen, but a ]^ortherner failed 
to discover the taste so apparent at home in the 
surrounding grounds and out-buildings. The 
straggling and inferior negro quarters, always 
near the main residence, are an insuperable bar- 
rier to neatness in external arrangement, or taste 
in appearance. 

The old South Fork Church, near Robertson 
River, where w^e bivouacked after the first day's 
march, was an object of curiosity. Erected in 
the days of the colonies, the internal structure, 
of the style of a century ago, remains unchanged, 
even to the high-back pews and lofty pulpit. 
Here was to be seen the Yankee propensity for 
recording autographs on prominent places, and 
from the walls of the old church one might al- 
most have made a muster-roll of the entire 
army. 

The march was resumed at four o'clock of the 
following morning, and toward sundown of Au- 
gust 6th we encamped near Culpeper. Two days' 
marching, with the thermometer indicating a 
hundred degrees, was hard work, and the troops 
enjoyed the succeeding day of rest and quiet. 

Already the ubiquitous Stonewall Jackson had 



BATTLE OF CEDAR MOUNTAIN. 



89 



arrived at Grordonsville, and scouts from the front 
reported that the enemy was crossing the Rapidan 
River at several different points. Late on Fri- 
day afternoon Ricketts's Division was quickly 
formed, and moved through Calpeper to a point 
two miles beyond, where the road from Madison 
Court House intersects the road from Calpeper 
to Cedar Mountain. General Banks was three 
miles distant tp the right, near Cedar Mountain. 
If the enemy was moving on Culpeper from 
Orange Court House, he would first strike 
Banks's line, but if he came from Madison, 
Ricketts's Division lay across his track. 

The night passed without alarm ; but with the 
morning of August 9th came authenticated re- 
ports that Jackson w^as showing himself in front of 
Cedar Mountain. Some hours later there was 
heard an occasional artillery discharge, and, as 
the day wore away, the firing increased in near- 
ness and rapidity. From a knoll, near where the 
troops had rested on their arms from early morn- 
ing, batteries could be seen getting into position 
and opening fire. 

The greatest impatience was manifested by the 
men of Ricketts's Division, and when the for- 
ward command was given, about five o'clock in 
the evening, no time was lost in getting into line. 
We moved directly toward Cedar Mountain, and 
soon began to see evidences of the battle that 
had been fought so near us. Those of the 

8* 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



wounded able to walk were moving slowly to the 
rear. Others, agam, were supported by the arm 
of a companion, and at last they came in long 
lines of ambulances. As the Eleventh drew 
nearer to the battle-field, the men halted for a 
moment to be relieved of knapsacks, and then 
pushed on with a quickened step. 

It was quite dark when Ricketts's Division 
reached the position held by Banks's right dur- 
ing the day. A renewal of the engagement was 
hardly expected before morning. But as Banks 
withdrew to give place to McDowell, concealed 
under cover of the night, the enemy had followed 
after; and while Ricketts was getting into posi- 
tion, opened upon us a furious cannonade. The 
suddenness of the attack, and the surrounding 
darkness that hid the enemy from view, save as 
the flash of the guns revealed his presence, was 
to many an experience strange and startling. 

Moving forward through the heavy fire, Hart- 
sufl*'s Brigade was placed under^ shelter of a 
stretch of rolling ground. Batteries were now 
got into position, and the answers returned from 
the Federal lines were as savage as the messages 
received. In the comparative safety the rising- 
ground afibrded, we could distinctly trace, by the 
burning fuse, the shells from our own and the rebel 
batteries, as they went hissing overhead through 
the heavy night air. The firing was kept up un- 
til after midnight, the enemy expending most of 



BATTLE OF CEDAR MOUNTAIN. 



91 



his shell on a dense woods some distance to our 
right. 

The losses in the brigade were confined to the 
Twelfth Massachusetts and Eleventh Pennsylva- 
nia. The former had one commissioned officer 
killed, and ten men wounded. The Eleventh 
reported three wounded. 

A little before daylight of next day, the regi- 
ment moved from the open ground where it lay 
in line of battle all night, to the rear of the woods 
so lately shelled by the enemy. We were in the 
front line, in momentary expectation of the re- 
newal of yesterday's conflict. 

Conscious that the chaplain, non-combatant 
and unarmed, ought to escape harm, perhaps it 
was easy for the men to believe that he would 
escape. On that morning one and another of 
officers and men, who well knew the rapacious 
character of the foe, and his intense hatred of 
everything belonging to Pope's army, came to 
commit to the chaplain whatever of value was 
about their person. 

" This is for my wife, if I am killed or taken 
prisoner," said one. 

" This is for my mother," said another. 

Placing a valuable ring on our linger and a 
folded paper in our hand, a young man said: "If 
I do not come out of this day's fight, please send 
the ring as therein directed." 

But the enemy did not attack; and the day 



92 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



passed in unlooked-for quiet. Under a flag of 
truce, the 11th of August was spent in caring for 
the wounded left on the field, and in burying the 
dead. On the 12tli, our scouts reported that J ack- 
son was falling back across the Rapidan Eiver. 

The Union loss in killed, wounded, and miss- 
ing was fifteen hundred. If General Banks 
wanted to test the fighting qualities of his corps, 
he must have been greatl}^ elated at the result of 
the battle of Cedar Mountain. But it was a use- 
less and wicked sacrifice of life, to contend for 
half a day with double his number, when thou- 
sands of troops, impatient to assist, were within 
an hour's march. 

Three days after the rebel army retired across 
the Rapidan, Pope's entire force was posted 
along its north bank. From Cedar Mountain we 
followed in the track of the retreating enemy. 
The road w^as strewed with tattered garments, 
abandoned equipments, and here and there a 
broken- dow^n wagon, the debris of battle. Graves 
were everywhere, and of a size to indicate that 
large numbers of the dead had been buried to- 
gether. 

Leaving the advancing column for a time, we 
rode over the battle-field, and to the top of 
Cedar Mountain. Here was the residence of 
Mr. Slaughter, the owner of the estate, and from 
whom the hill is sometimes called Slaughter 
Mountain — a name by which it should evermore 



ADVANCE TO THE RAPIDAN. 



98 



be known. The proprietor is an Episcopal clergy- 
man, and his house among the most homelike we 
had seen in Virginia. But everything was in 
ruins; and over the yard were strewed fragments 
of elegant furniture, and valuable books and 
papers, the collection probably of two or three 
generations. Several books were brought away 
from the deserted mansion, that we retain in our 
keeping to be restored to their rightful owner. 



CHAPTEE 11. 

FROM THE RAPIDAN TO THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 

At that opportune moment, and by one of 
those little events which men call accidents, for 
want of faith in an overruling Providence, the 
plans and intentions of the enemy became fully 
known. The adjutant-general of Stuart's cavalry 
was captured by our scouts, having on his person 
a letter from General Lee, dated at Gordonsville. 
It was therein revealed that the whole Confed- 
erate force was coming against Pope ; that the 
Army of Virginia was to be overwhelmed before 
reinforcements could reach it from the James 
River. 

The authorities at Washington had declared 



94 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



that if the two armies of Pope and McClellan could 
only be united, the country was saved beyond a 
doubt. To secure a union so desirable, Pope's first 
move was to abandon the line of the Rapidan for 
the more defensible one of the Rappahannock. 

August 19th, as we lay near Mitchell's Station, 
orders came to prepare to march. The wagon 
trains moved toward Culpeper soon after the 
receipt of the order; but it was eleven o'clock at 
night before the troops began filing off* on the 
same road taken by the trains. ^Tothing in sol- 
dier life was so much to be dreaded as a night 
march. The sullenness of such vast bodies of 
men in motion — itself oppressive — is strangely 
increased by the absence of all genial sunshine. 

The frequent halts, to allow the lumbering 
wagon trains to clear the road, detained the in- 
fantry until long after daylight in passing through 
Culpeper. Rank and file well understood that 
the rebels were in close pursuit, and that every- 
thing depended upon the crossing of the Rappa- 
hannock. The heat was intense, and the dust 
almost sufiTocating. At any season of the year that 
part of Virginia i s only poorly supplied with water ; 
but in the parching August month the springs are 
nearly dried up, and pure, cold water a rare lux- 
nvy. Yet through heat and dust, and almost 
famishing with thirst, the army pushed heroically 
forward. Many there were, indeed, whose phys- 
ical endurance was not equal to the trial; and 



GKEETmaS IN CULPEPEK. 



95 



throwing themselves down on the roadside, the 
very picture of despair, we were compelled to 
ahandon them to their uncertain fate. 

As we hurried through the town, a little dark- 
eyed girl, standing near the street, and swinging 
aloft a jaunty bonnet, inflated her lungs with 
the morning air to cry out after us : 

"Good-by, Yankees. Tm glad you're gone! 
Good-by, Yankees." 

But it was not thus with all our Culpeper 
friends. Crossing the deep bed of Mountain 
Run, at the northern extremity of the village, 
with ambulances and artillery, and officers on 
horse, was an old negro man, driving a 3^oke of 
oxen fastened to a rickety wagon, on which were 
piled women and children, bedding and boxes, 
in wonderful confusion. 

"Halloa, uncle, where are you going with that 
load of darkies?" 

"Gwine wid you all," was the satisfactory re- 

ply- 

Whether it was a like preference for the Yan- 
kees, such as that possessed by their master, or 
the goad of the earnest driver that urged them 
forward, the oxen kept up with the quick pace of 
the troops, and crossed the Rappahannock at the 
brding below, while the footmen marched over 
;he railroad bridge at Rappahannock Station, a 
5hort distance above. 

It was nine o'clock at night, and no couch of 



96 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



down invited to a sounder repose than did the 
grassy Mllock of our bivouac, on the north side 
of the river, after that wearying march of twenty- 
five miles. 

Wednesday morning, huge columns of dust, 
stretching away in the distance, indicated the 
approach of the enemy. An hour later, his 
cavalry emerged from the woods, three-quarters 
of a mile from the river, ready to carry the 
railroad bridge by a gallant charge. But a 
strong line of our own horsemen, sent across to 
support the infantry pickets, confronted bim, and 
gave a different turn to his intentions. 

Toward noon, Mattbews's Pennsylvania Bat- 
tery, supported by the Eleventh Eegiment, was 
ordered to occupy a commanding elevation on 
the soutb side of the Eappahannock. Three 
hundred yards further in advance was another 
slight elevation, and, later in the day, a section 
of the battery occupied this new position, the 
Eleventli moving forward witli it. These move- 
ments gave us possession of the best defenses on 
the enemy's side of the river, completely cover- 
ing the bridge and the fording, thougb bringing 
us quite near to the position taken by tbe Con- 
federates. 

There have been few more daring and determ- 
ined undertakings than that now made by the 
Army of Virginia. With a greatly inferior force, 
it had stretcbed itself along the Rappahannock 



FIGHT AT KAPPAHANNOCK STATION. 97 



in face of an opposing host, bold in the con- 
sciousness of superior numbers and elated at the 
total failure of the Peninsular campaign. It was 
not intended that Pope's army, unaided, should 
take the field against Lee. The present move- 
ments were all designed to gain time, that the 
hundred thousand veterans from Harrison's Land- 
ing might join their strength to the fifty thousand 
on the Rappahannock. To accomplish this object 
we were keeping close connections with Freder- 
icksburg and Aquia Creek, the route by which 
many of those troops were to reach us. To break 
that line of defense, and intercept expected re- 
inforcements, was, for the time being, the princi- 
pal object of General Lee. 

The Eleventh passed the night on the south 
side of the river without molestation, though 
every man slept with his hand on his musket, 
and was aroused by the breaking of a twig, or 
the chirp of a cricket. Thursday morning the 
rebels opened a furious fire from several batteries 
wheeled into position during the night. But the 
defenses thrown up by our men were ample pro- 
tection from shot and shell ; and though the at- 
tack lasted for more than an hour, the casualties 
in the regiment were only one killed and two or 
three wounded. 

Simultaneously with the attack at Rappahan- 
nock Station, a determined effort was made to 
break the Union lines at Kelly's Ford, six miles 

9 



98 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



below, but with no better success. All day of 
Friday comparative quiet prevailed in our front. 
Several attempts were made by the enemy so to 
place his artillery as to enfilade our position; but 
Thompson's Battery and the rest of HartsufF's 
Brigade moved across the river, and every such 
eftbrt was anticipated and defeated. The princi- 
pal engagement was far to the right near Sulphur 
Springs. Through the latter part of the fight a 
heavy rain-storm prevailed, and the booming of 
cannon below was answered by the deep pealing 
thunder above. 

Saturday morning dawned full of intense ex- 
citement. The heavy rain of the night before 
began to be seen in the rapid rising of the river. 
Shortly after midnight, a temporary bridge, built 
to facilitate the crossing of reinforcements, or the 
retreat of Hartsuff if need be, was washed away 
by the flood; and lodging against the railroad 
bridge, threatened to carry it down also. Every 
moment the river was swelling higher and higher, 
and every moment increasing the danger to the 
bridge. 

The other three regiments composing the 
brigade were ordered across to the north side of 
the Rappahannock, carrying all the batteries 
with them but the two guns that remained with 
the Eleventh on the advance knoll. Some mo- 
ments later, orders came for the Eleventh also to 
retire, excepting Cos. I and K. These two com- 



FIGHT AT RAPPAHANNOCK STATION. 99 

panies, witli the guns of Thompson's Battery, 
took the first position of Wednesday. At the 
same time Co. B recrossed to the south side, and 
was placed to guard the approach to the bridge. 

l!^ow came on the rebels, cavalry, artillery, and 
infantry, crowding toward the river, and jostling 
each other for the position so lately evacuated 
by the Eleventh. But too surely did death meet 
the few, braver than their companions, that first 
made the ascent of the vacated hill for others to 
try it, until the little squad of two companies, 
whose guns were never silent, should be routed 
from their stronghold. Against our last position 
the whole rebel tire was concentrated. The men 
increased, the hight of the breastworks by piling 
up their knapsacks, and thus, in close quarters 
with the enemy, awaited the signal to retire. At 
last it came, and under cover of our guns on the 
north bank, the companies crossed the river with- 
out the loss of a man. The batteries were then 
turned against the bridge, and in ten minutes 
not a timber remained standing. 

The Rappahannock was at flood hight; the 
fordings were all sunk, and withdrawing from 
the river and marching toward Warrenton, the 
Eleventh bivouacked Saturday night in sight of 
the town. 



100 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



CHAPTER m. 

POPE RETREATING NORTHWARD. 

For two days tlie enemy was reported in large 
force, moving up toward the right of the lines. 
Sunda}^ morning Ricketts's Division was sent in 
the direction of Sulphur Springs, where it was 
supposed Lee might attempt a crossing. Monday 
we were pushed still further to the right; and on 
Tuesday afternoon, the division was thrown across 
the Warrenton pike, near Waterloo Bridge. 

In the midst of this last shifting of position, 
fifty men, the first installment of Co. G, com- 
manded by Lieutenant A. G. Happer, joined the 
regiment. Thej^ came to Warrenton by railroad, 
loaded down with heavy overcoats, blankets, and 
extra clothing, that some dishonest quartermaster 
had imposed upon them. But though only raw 
recruits, unskilled in the ways of war, and with- 
out training either in the manual of arms or in 
marching, they soon learned to adapt themselves 
to the exciting surroundings. Knapsacks were 
emptied of their contents along the roadside; and 
thus relieved of the one striking peculiarity — 
a John Bunyan load on their shoulders — the re- 
cruits of Co. Gr were lost in the rapidly moving 
column. 



THE RAPPAHANNOCK ABANDONED. 101 

Scouts continued to say that the Confederates 
were marching toward our right, and by Wed- 
nesday evening it was known that Jackson had 
passed through Thoroughfare Gap, and was con- 
centrating his corps at Manassas Junction. 

So confident was General Pope that troops 
from the Peninsular army would be at the points 
assigned to them, and at the time designated, 
that Jackson's movement in the direction of 
Salem and White Plains had given no uneasi- 
ness, as his passage through Thoroughfare Gap 
would not have been possible. But on the night 
of the 26th of August, telegraphic communica- 
tions with Washington were interrupted, and 
Pope knew that reinforcements, from the quar- 
ter expected, had failed him. The Federal com- 
mander now determined to abandon the line of 
the Rappahannock, and throw his whole force 
upon the enemy that had passed through the 
Gap, hoping to destroy Jackson before the rest 
of Lee's army could come to his support. 

Wednesday night McDowell's Corps bivouacked 
near Gainesville. Thursday morning had a prom- 
ising look for the capture of Jackson. He could 
not retrace his steps toward Thoroughfare, be- 
cause the sudden and unexpected movement of 
Pope placed Sigel and McDowell between him 
and retreat in that direction. 'No other course 
was left to Jackson but to retire toward Cen- 
terville; and as that carried him still further 
9* 



102 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



from Lee, it increased the probabilities of his 
capture. 

Everything depended upon quick and energetic 
work. Reinforcements must first reach the rebel 
general by way of Thoroughfare, and General 
McDowell ordered Ricketts's Division to march 
direct for that point, while the rest of the corps 
moved on to Manassas Junction. Hartsuff's 
Brigade, under command of Colonel Stiles of 
the IS^inth ^ew York (General Hartsuff having 
been left sick at Warrenton), was in the advance 
of the division; and the Eleventh Pennsylvania, 
more familiar with the country than any other 
regiment, led the brigade. 

At Haymarket, couriers reported that our cav- 
alry held the Gap, but the enemy was advancing 
in strong column from White Plains. If the rebels 
could be kept in check two hours at Thorough- 
fare, McDowell had assured General Picketts that 
Jackson and his whole force would be captured. 
Heavy and rapid firing was heard in the direction 
of Manassas. The other divisions of the corps 
were evidently performing their part of the great 
work then to be done, and every man in Picketts's 
Division was anxious that we should do the part 
assigned to us. Within a mile of the Gap the 
cavalry were met retiring toward Haymarket. 
They had been driven back, and the enemy held 
the pass. A quarter of a mile further brought 
our own skirmish line in sight of that of the 
rebels. 



BATTLE OF THOROUGHFARE GAP. 103 

It was now the middle of the afternoon, and 
until the sun went down did the contest continue 
for possession of that mountain Gap. The en- 
emy could not bring his artillery into position, 
and such was the nature of the ground, that for 
our own batteries there was little use. It was a 
musketry fight, but the Bull Run Mountain, in 
whose face was the tiring, seemed to catch each 
distinct volley, and in returning it again, the 
echoes were so loud and long as to remind one 
only of booming cannon and bursting shells. 

Gradually the Confederates were pressed back 
to the entrance of tbe pass, where they were 
found to be in possession of Chapman's Mill, 
within the Gap, and of the bights on either side. 
Every foot of those hills was as familiar to the 
men of the Eleventh as a residence of several 
weeks could make them, and though nobly sup- 
ported by the rest of tbe brigade, the brunt of 
the battle was met by the Eleventh Regiment 
gallantly leading the way. Pushing up the hill 
to the right of the Gap, against a severe fire 
from the enemy concealed behind the mills, our 
men finally succeeded in. establishing a strong 
line on the summit of the ridge. The steep and 
rugged character of the ground over w^hich they 
were contending rendered a further advance im- 
possible. But if the Eleventh could not advance, 
neither could it be driven back, and the colonel 
maintained his position until ordered to retire. 



104 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



For more than four hours the enemy was held 
in check. But it cost the regiment eighteen men 
killed and thirty-seven wounded. Among the 
killed were Captain Shanks, of Co. B, and Lieu- 
tenant Saxton, of Co. D. Among the severely 
wounded were Captain Keenan, of Co. K, and 
Lieutenant Tapp, of Co. B. Our killed and many 
of the wounded were left on the field. Those 
brought off' were made as comfortable in hospi- 
tal as the one solitary house near by would allow. 
When the division retired, the wounded were all 
placed in ambulances and brought off' with the 
troops, rather than leave them to the tender mer- 
cies of the rebels. 

The men of the Eleventh and other regiments 
of the brigade, as well as the few wounded South- 
erners that fell into our hands, had occasion to 
remember the kindness and unselfish devotion of 
Surgeon Anawalt, in charge of the regiment, and 
of Assistant Surgeon Phelps, who, two weeks 
before, had reported for duty. 

The division fell back to Gainesville, and halted 
until morning. Less than a quarter of a mile 
distant was the entire force of Longstreet, neither 
commander knowing of the nearness of the other 
until the order of General McDowell, directing 
Ricketts to move at once to Manassas Junction, 
revealed it. The aid-de-camp lost his way, and 
did not reach our bivouac until the day had 
dawned. But a veil-like mist was between the 



HOSPITAL AT MANASSAS. 



105 



two armies, and, marching by way of Bristow 
Station, the division came up with the rest of the 
corps at Manassas. 

During the night two of the men died in the 
ambulances. On a little knoll near Bristow we 
placed them side by side in a single grave, in that 
sleep which neither the tramp of advancing or 
receding armies, nor the din of battle so often 
heard around that spot, has ever disturbed. 

Scarcely had the division rested half an hour 
at Manassas until it was again ordered to Gaines- 
ville. Pope's plans had not been fully carried 
out by all the corps, and a break in the line was 
then discovered that might, as indeed it did, de- 
feat everything. 

It was now noon of Friday, August 29th. We 
had in our ambulances thirty or forty wounded 
men, for whom little had been done since the 
previous evening. It was impossible for these 
longer to follow the division. Dr. Phelps and the 
chaplain of the Eleventh were directed to place 
them in hospital as near as might be to the Junc- 
tion. Half a mile distant to the' east, was a small 
dwelling, occupied by two old persons, who 
strongly objected to having their house taken for 
a hospital. But it was the only buildipg near, and 
we were compelled to disregard their protest. 
The sight of suffering, however, touched the heart 
of the old lady, and, woman like, she did will- 
ingly what she could to make the wounded easy 
and comfortable. 



106 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



CHAPTER lY. 

SECOND BATTLE OF BULL RUN. 

During Friday afternoon Dr. Phelps was joined, 
at our improvised hospital, by two other surgeons 
of the brigade. Leaving the doctors in charge of 
the wounded, early Saturday morning we started 
in search of Ricketts's Division, going in the di- 
rection of Gainesville. 

Four miles from the Junction, a squad of cav- 
alry reported Gainesville in possession of the 
rebels, and that their picket line extended but a 
short distance up the road we were riding. Leav- 
ing a path so beset with danger, and taking the 
direction indicated by the cavalry, who pursued 
their way to Manassas, we came up with the 
troops north of the Warrenton pike, and in sight 
of the stone house. The division, diverted from 
its march to Gainesville by later orders, had 
passed the night near Bull Run. 

Although there had been severe fighting most 
of the day of Friday by the several corps of the 
army, nothing decisive was gained. The rebel 
forces, since coming through Thoroughfare, had 
nearly completed a circle. Sweeping down over 
Manassas plains and along the hights of Center- 



PORTER DISOBEYS ORDERS. 107 



ville, capturing immense supplies of stores, and 
destroying: a million of dollars' worth of prop- 
erty, all that day Jackson boldly manoeuvred to 
rest his right flank on Gainesville. 

At an early hour McDowell and Porter were 
ordered to move their respective corps to that 
point of the field, where Jackson might have 
been attacked on the flank and in the rear before 
reinforcements reached him. The troops in front 
listened anxiously for the signal of assault on 
the enemy's right. Repeated artillery discharges, 
coming from that direction in the afternoon, 
awakened the hope that Porter and McDowell 
were then both at work. But suddenly all was 
again quiet. 

Some time later, General McDowell was an- 
nounced through a courier as moving along the 
Sudle}^ Springs road, to join the main army in 
front. Peremptory orders were then sent to Gen- 
eral Porter, who commanded the largest corps in 
the army, and had undergone less fatigue, to 
move on to Gainesville, and at once attack the 
enemy. When a suflScient time had elapsed for 
Porter to get into position, a furious attack was 
made upon the rebel left, completely breaking 
the line, and throwing it back on the center; and 
if a like spirited attack had been made on the rebel 
right, the day would have been won to the Fed- 
eral army. But the order of General Pope was 
disobeyed. Porter did not march to Gainesville, 
nor did he encounter the enemy. 



108 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



The complexion of affairs throughout the en- 
tire field was materially changed on Saturday 
morning. Longstreet had united his corps with 
Jackson by way of Thoroughfare, and Lee's entire 
force was concentrated at Gainesville. The high- 
est estimate of Pope's army, at that critical mo- 
ment, was forty thousand men. He had given 
up all hope of any assistance from the army ar- 
rived at Washington and Alexandria from the 
Peninsula, and to delay the further advance of 
the enemy toward the capital, the Federal com- 
mander determined to renew the engagement. 

The first movement was on the right, by Heint- 
zelman and Reno, to whose support Ricketts's 
Division was at once sent. Colonel Stiles had 
been returned to his regiment, and Hartsufi^'s 
Brigade was under command of General Towers. 

The order to move to the right reached the 
Eleventh as we sat around the mid-day meal 
of coffee and hard bread, spread out on the 
ground, with a gum poncho for a table cloth. 
I^^ever will be forgotten that hurried dinner on 
the Bull Run battle-field. Prom the organiza- 
tion of the regiment, the headquarters' mess con- 
sisted of the three field officers and the chaplain. 
At that meal all were present, and with us, as in- 
vited guests, were the surgeon and the adjutant. 

Soon after Heintzelman's attack on the right, 
the enemy made a furious assault along our whole 
line; but most severely was he felt on the ex- 



RICKETTS'S DIVISION ON THE LEFT. 109 

treme left. The left of the Federal line was 
south of the Warrenton turnpike, and termin- 
ated with Bald Hill, a low but commanding ridge 
rising above the road, and sloping down into 
broad open fields in front, that were bordered, 
half a mile away, by a thick forest of timber. 
McDowell's Corps was already on the left with 
its lines formed on Bald Hill, and recalled from 
the right, Ricketts's Division marched rapidly 
across the battle-field to rejoin it. 

A score of batteries, posted on the top of the 
ridge, commanded every foot of the open fields; 
and though at each separate discharge whole 
lines of advancing rebels were swept down in 
death, still they came pouring forth from the 
dark w^oods beyond with daring impetuosity. 
Dreadful, too, was the carnage in the Union 
ranks on Bald Hill. Entire regiments seemed to 
melt away in an instant. One moment a strong 
line was seen advancing with steady step to the 
top of the ridge; the next moment it came roll- 
ing back in disordered and straggling masses. 
Other lines took the place of the broken columns 
only to meet a similar fate. The left was a mael- 
strom, that swallowed up everything coming 
within its fatal reach. 

Conspicuous on that part of the ground was 
Towers's Brigade. "The conduct of the brigade, 
in plain view of all the forces on the left, was 
especially distinguished; and drew forth hearty 
10 



110 



STORY OP THE REGIMENT. 



and enthusiastic cheers. The example of the 
men was of great service, and infused new spirit 
into all the troops that witnessed their intrepid 
conduct." * 

In the thickest of the engagement General 
Towers was seriously wounded and taken from 
the field. Colonel Stiles was absent on detached 
duty; Colonel Fletcher "Webster, of the Twelfth 
Massachusetts, was among the early slain on the 
left, and the command of the brigade devolved 
upon Colonel Coulter, the next ranking officer. 

^'Do the best you can to hold the position, 
colonel," were the words of General Towers, as 
he passed to the rear. 

The battle had gone seriously with the Eleventh. 
Colonel Martin was killed instantly. Major Frink 
was seen to fall, shot through the head. Lieu- 
tenant Dalby, of Co. E, and Lieutenant Hyndman, 
of Co. D, were killed at the same moment. Cap- 
tain Cribbs, of Co. I, and Lieutenant McClintock, 
of Co. C, lay at the foot of the hill in a dying 
condition. Lieutenant Weaverling, of Co. A, 
Lieutenant Haines, of Co. B, Captain Bierer 
and Lieutenant Shawl, of Co. C, and Captain E. 
H. Ranch, of Co. H, were among the severely 
wounded. The command of the regiment de- 
volved upon Adjutant Uncapher, and maintained 
its place, until of three hundred and forty-six 



* Pope's official Report. 



RETREAT TO CENTERVILLE. 



Ill 



men, twenty-two were killed, and one hundred 
and fifty-four wounded and missing. 

But no valor or heroic daring could withstand 
the numbers and fury of the rebels. Reinforce- 
ments were coming up slowly, and resistance 
was almost at an end, when a wild hurrah, and 
a murderous volley of artillery and musketry far 
to the left, told that the enemy had completely 
flanked our position, and the day was lost. 

Singly and in squads of a dozen, but hardly in 
companies, the Army of Virginia retreated across 
Bull Run, resting at night on the bights of Cen- 
terville. 

The miserable town presented a woeful appear- 
ance on that next Sabbath morning. Those of 
the wounded that could endure to walk had 
found their way hither from the battle-field, and 
could now be seen by scores stretched out in the 
yards, and along the side-walks, as well as crowded 
into the houses and out-sheds of the wretched 
place. There were wounds about the head that 
stained the face and matted the hair with blood. 
Others were carrying hands mangled and torn 
by bursting shells, while many were faint and 
dying from loss of blood and want of nourish- 
ment. Many hands, though the willing instru- 
ments of hearts full of sympathy, and actively 
engaged throughout all of that day, could do 
scarcely more than reach the most needy of the 
needful throng. 



112 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Fearful of those formidable Ceiiterville hights, 
that his own men had rendered impregnable, 
General Lee did not venture to follow our retreat 
across Bull Run. But the whole country to the 
left was opened before him, and with scarcely an 
hour's halt in his movements, the first of Sep- 
tember showed his troops on the Aldie pike, 
marching hard upon our right flank. The design 
of the enemy was too transparent to be disguised. 
It was a bold attempt to reach Fairfax Court 
House in our rear. Centerville was no longer 
tenable ground; and with its thousands of 
wounded and dying, was given up to the enemy. 

If the persistent foe, elated by a second victory 
at Bull Run, expected to make short work of the 
jaded and worn-out Army of Virginia, by cutting 
oflF its only avenue of retreat, he made a sorry 
mistake. Within three miles of Fairfax his path 
was crossed by a triple line of brave and valorous 
hearts, that neither incessant marching, nor skirm- 
ishes, nor battles with thrice their number, could 
overwhelm or defeat. 

The battle of Chantilly, where the gallant 
Kearney gave up his life, was a flnal check to all 
eftbrts on the part of the Confederate general to 
get in between Pope and the capital. But as 
the rebels continued to march by the left flank, 
and were disappearing from our front. Pope's 
entire army fell back within the fortifications of 
Washington. On the morning of September 2d, 



ARMY WITHIN THE FORTIFICATIONS. 113 

moving from the banks of Difficult Creek where 
it had been placed in position the evening before, 
holding the enemy in check in front, while Reno 
and Kearney attacked on the flank, Ricketts's 
Division encamped at night on Hall's Hill, in 
sight of the Potomac. 

Pope's Virginia campaign was now at an end. 
Seldom has one army been asked to undergo what 
the men of the Army of Virginia performed. 
^'For fifteen days, with scarcely half a day's in- 
termission, it was either making forced marches, 
many times through the night, and many times 
without food, or else engaged in battle. These 
fatigues were most severe toward the last, when, 
on account of the movements of the enemy, we 
had separated from our supplies, and many gen- 
erals, as well as private soldiers, had no food, or 
only such as could be picked up in the orchards 
or cornfields along the road. In all this the 
patience and endurance and good conduct of the 
men were admirable. To fight and retreat, and 
retreat and fight, in the face of a superior force, 
is a severe test of soldiership." * 

But General McDowell omitted to say, that all 
the fatigues of that campaign were endured by 
the men, not only without that confidence in the 
leading generals, from which comes the enthu- 
siasm of an army, but with a positive aversion 



* McDowell's Report. 
10* 



114 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



toward them. At the very outset, by th.e tone 
of his orders, and the self-snperior style of his 
addresses, General Pope made an unfavorable 
impression upon the troops, — an impression that 
was never corrected. 

Witli General McDowell the case was still 
worse. Besides an utter want of faith in his 
competency as a field commander, the wildest 
stories of complicity with the rebels were cir- 
culated and believed concerning him. During 
the excessive hot days of the campaign, the gen- 
eral wore a cool and becoming bambo hat, of 
peculiar shape. But the troops declared that it 
was especially designed as a distinguishing mark 
to the enemy. To such a hight did the feeling 
prevail, that when the rumor was circulated^ 
on the last day of the Bull Run battle, that Mc- 
Dowell had been shot by Sigel for open acts of 
treason, there were few who cared to call the 
truth of the rumor in question. 

'New light has been thrown upon that unfortu- 
nate, though valorous campaign, chasing away 
the darkness of ignorant and unfounded preju- 
dice, so damaging to the reputation of a gallant 
though unsuccessful officer. In that new light 
the country can also see how the second battle 
of Bull Run might have been a victory instead 
of a depressing defeat. 



TV. 



CHAPTER I. 

REBEL INVASION OF MARYLAND. 

The broad Potomac rolled on toward the At- 
lantic, through the deep bed of its channel, as 
placidly as though no defeated army rested on 
its banks, and all unconscious of the sanguinary 
contest so soon to be decided near its upper 
waters. 

The unusual quiet of the few nights passed at 
Hall's Hill, wherein there was neither booming 
of cannon, nor tramping of men, was a generous 
relief to soul and body. To sleep under the 
shelter of a tent, with our colored cook Strauthers, 
ever faithful and true, to see that the mess-chest 
was well supplied, were comforts we had not for- 
gotten how to appreciate. But we sadly missed 
our genial mess-mates, Colonel Martin and Major 
Frink. 

Colonel Martin fell at the post of duty, and at 
the moment when, with bitter curses and loud 
imprecations, the rebels were charging upon our 
lines on Bald Hill. It was a critical moment, 

(115) 



116 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



and every man belonging to the Eleventh, was 
needed in his place. With an unselfishness per- 
fectly characteristic, the dying officer said to 
those who saw him fall, and had gone to his as- 
sistance : 

"^^"ever mind me, boys; never mind me. Go 
back to the regiment. You are wanted there." 

The tide of battle soon swept us far beyond 
the spot where his companions left him to die. 
But the body was afterward buried by Dr. 
Woods, of the Ira Harris Cavalry, — an old An- 
napolis friend, — and the place of interment so 
carefully marked, that some weeks later the re- 
mains were recovered, and now rest in Monu- 
ment Cemetery, Philadelphia. 

Earely have we met a person of such high 
social qualities, or one who combined so many 
elements of the true gentleman. 'No braver or 
more patriotic soldier fell on that field of Bull 
Kun than Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas S. Martin. 

Passing through the various hospitals in the 
City of Washington, looking after the wounded 
of the Eleventh, in the register of Armor}' Hos- 
pital, our eye fell upon this entry; "Bed 75 — 
Major H. A. Frink, Eleventh Regiment Pennsyl- 
vania Volunteers." In the list of casualties, we 
had counted the major among the killed; and 
the frightful gash in the head, that the surgeon 
w^as dressing at the moment we entered, told 
how nearly that report had come of being 
correct. 



m'clellan in command. 



117 



The flag of truce party, sent out to gatlier up 
the wounded, overlooked him ; and after days of 
suffering on the battle-field, without shelter and 
without food, and almost totally blind from the 
effects of the wound, Major Frink made his way 
first to Centerville, where the rebel authorities 
paroled him, and finally to Washington. 

Among the losses" in the brigade, outside of 
our own regiment, none was more keenly felt 
than the death of Colonel Fletcher Webster, of 
'the Twelfth Massachusetts. Our first introduc- 
tion at Falmouth, in the preceding month of 
May, had grown into an intimacy still remem- 
bered with pleasure. The colonel was a brave 
and chivalrous soldier; partaking largely of the 
warm impulses and noble nature of his illustrious 
father. 

Four days of rest and quiet, short as was the 
time, told wonderfully upon the looks and spirits 
of officers and men. It must also be said that a 
new enthusiasm had taken hold upon the troops. 
As our depleted columns moved slowly back 
from Fairfax Court House, to an officer who rode 
up at our side, we said : 

^'This is sad work, captain. I am afraid the 
rebels mean to drive us across the river and cap- 
ture Washington." 

"^^"0, sir," was the reply. "General McClellan 
is in command of the army. It will all be right 
now." 



118 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



But not even four days of rest had been allowed 
to the Confederate army. A new thought was 
stirring the active brain of its daring commander. 
The seat of war was to be brought northward. 
Maryland was to be occupied, and such an up- 
rising of the people to welcome him as their 
deliverer was anticipated by Lee, as to defy the 
power of the Federal Government longer to hold 
the State in the Union, or dislodge the Southern 
army from its firm foothold. The rebel general 
was already across the Potomac; and the day the* 
Eleventh left Hall's Hill, Stuart's cavalry entered 
the City of Frederick. 

It was midnight of September 6th, as we filed 
along the road leading to Georgetown bridge, 
across the Potomac, and through the streets of 
Washington. General Hartsuff was again at the 
head of the brigade, and General Hooker in com- 
mand of McDowell's Corps. Hooker was moving 
with his corps toward Frederick, not directly, 
but over a route that covered the capital and 
defended Baltimore from a flank attack by the 
enemy. 

Thursday evening we pitched our tents along- 
side the Baltimore and Frederick turnpike, 
twenty miles from the latter place. Whatever 
the rebel leaders may have thought of Maryland, 
it was quite evident to us that we were in the 
land of our friends. 

At our second bivouac across the Potomac, 



RECRUITS FROM HARRISBURG. 119 



Captain John B. McGrew, of Co. G, and fifty 
men from Harrisburg, reported to the regi- 
ment. The first detachment, under Lieutenant 
Happer, had nearly disappeared in the battles of 
Thoroughfare Gap and Bull Eun; and this arrival 
of the captain was a timely addition to Co. G. Here 
also, on the Frederick pike, we were joined by 
Dr. Phelps, direct from Manassas, ^ot two 
hours after we left the hospital, on the morning 
of August 30th, a force of rebel cavalrj^ came in 
upon them, taking off nurses, drivers, ambu- 
lances, and horses. Even the horses of the sur- 
geons were captured; but on application to Colo- 
nel Rosser, commanding the cavalry, these latter 
were restored. 

The doctor soon learned of the defeat of the 
Union forces, and that all the intervening country 
between Manassas and Alexandria was in pos- 
session of the rebels. At the end of three or 
four days, the scanty stock of supplies with which 
the hospital opened, was entirely consumed, and 
how to subsist thirty or forty wounded men, in a 
country where there was nothing to buy, and 
nothing to forage, became a serious question. 
Riding out toward Centerville, in search of some 
one to whom he might apply for assistance, the 
doctor fortunately met the flag of truce party. 
Rations and ambulances were at once provided, 
and all the wounded left at Manassas were 
brought to Alexandria. 



/ 



120 



STORY OP THE REGIMENT. 



It was a Sabbath morning, clear and beau- 
tiful, when the Federal army marched through 
Frederick — an event always to be remembered. 
For one week the town had been under rebel 
rule, a time sufficiently long for even the most 
intense Southern sympathizer; and the sight of 
the Union ranks filled the people of the place 
with extravagant joy. Amid deafening cheers 
and flying banners and waving handkerchiefs we 
pressed our way through the crowded streets 
toward the South Mountain, that rose boldly in 
front to the hight of a thousand feet. 

The route was along the i^ational road. From 
the top of Fairview Hill could be seen the smoke 
of the enemy's batteries, and we knew that in 
posting himself in Turner's Grap (the main pass 
of the mountain), and on the bights on either 
side, by which he commanded every way of ap- 
proach, General Lee had the advantage of posi- 
tion, and would hold the strong mountain de- 
fense to the last. The Corps of Hooker and Eeno, 
forming the right wing of the army, were under 
command of General Burnside. To attack in 
front would have been the extreme of folly. The 
only hope was to get on the enemy's flank, and 
while Reno was manoeuvring to the left of the 
^rational road, to secure such a result, Hooker's 
Corps moved to the right. A short distance from 
the Hagerstown pike we struck the old Braddock 
road, which crosses the mountain at a point not 



BATTLE OF SOUTH MOUNTAIN. 



121 



80 higli as tliat over which the main road passes^ 
but of steep and difficult ascent. Two miles 
from the pike, we began our upward march. 
The Eleventh was on the extreme right of Eick- 
etts's Division, and if it made rapid time in reach- 
ing the crest above, it was because we had learned 
at Tlioroughfare Gap how to march and fight up 
the side of a mountain. 

General Lee was too shrewd a commander to 
depend entirely upon that steep and rugged hill- 
side to defend his left flank. Hid in the ravines 
washed out by the summer torrents, and shel- 
tered behind breastworks leisurely constructed, 
the enemy awaited our advance. Half way up 
to the summit, the crest of the mountain sud- 
denly gleamed with a sheet of flame. If some 
staggered and fell back, meeting those whistling 
bullets from above, it only nerved that advancing 
column with new determination. 

The firing was severest on the left of the corps, 
held by the Pennsylvania Reserves; and when 
at last a prolonged cheer told that the left of the 
mountain top had been carried by Pennsylvania 
troops, the old Eleventh, fighting on the right, 
sent back the echo of victory from the same high 
level. 

Many a brave heart met a soldier's fate, climb- 
ing up the South Mountain. But each foot of 
ground wrested from the enemy was securely 
held. 'Next morning, Hartsuff's Brigade moved 
11 



122 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



cautiously along the Braddock road, over the 
deserted breastworks and rifle-pits of the enemy, 
until we struck the IsTational pike at the Mount- 
ain House. Turner's Gap was now in the rear. 
The attack on the left — though the gallant Reno 
lost his life in making it — was as successful as 
that on the right ; and the clouds of dust, rising 
from the plains below, told that Lee was in full 
retreat toward the Potomac, leaving his killed 
and wounded on the field. 

If the South Mountain battle had not been 
followed so soon by that of Antietam, whose 
greater proportions now almost overshadow it, it 
would be considered, as indeed it was, a decided 
victory over General Lee. Its influence on the 
morale of our troops was of far greater advantage 
than the loss of men and material of war sus- 
tained by the enemy. It was a success when, of 
everything else, success was needed to restore the 
weaning confidence of the rank and file. It was 
the silver lining to the dark cloud of reverses 
that had so long hung over the Potomac Army. 



A VIRGINIA CHAPLAIN. 



123 



CHAPTER II. 

M^CLELLAN AND LEE ON THE UPPER POTOMAC. 

Every spot along the road in which a man 
could find room to lie down, out of danger of 
being trampled to death by the moving columns, 
was found occupied by the wounded. The 
church at Boonsborough, and many private resi- 
dences, were converted into rebel hospitals, 
giving to the town the appearance of Center- 
ville after the battle of Bull Run. 

A Virginia chaplain remained behind to take 
care of the wounded of his regiment. Their 
loss was severe, numbering one or two hundred 
in killed and wounded. He was not disposed at 
first to be at all cordial, and our proposed good 
offices were politely refused. But afterward re- 
lenting, some assistance we were able to give 
was accepted with as much courtesy as it was 
before declined. 

"Our recent successes over your army have 
made us too confident. We had no thought of 
being driven from South Mountain ; and I fear 
that your rapid pursuit of General Lee will pre- 
vent him from crossing the Potomac without 
serious loss." 



124 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Turning off from the I^ational pike at Boons- 
borougli into the road leading to Sharpsburg, the 
army halted at Kedysville for several hours, 
waiting on cavalry operations in the front. Our 
advance came up with the enemy, stretched 
across the road over which we were marching, 
in strong force. When his position was fully 
known, it was too late to attack, and the Eleventh 
bivouacked for the night a short distance west of 
the village. 

Tuesday morning revealed that the enemy had 
changed his position during the night, and was 
now posted along the line of Antietam Creek, 
his right near Sharpsburg and his left resting on 
Miller's farm. With his usual sagacity, the rebel 
general had selected a most advantageous posi- 
tion. His right flank was protected by a high 
ridge — a continuance of Maryland Hights, run- 
ning northward, — and his left flank by the Poto- 
mac River, half a mile distant. Whether Mc- 
Clellan might determine to attack the rebel cen- 
ter,"or on either flank, he was compelled to cross 
the Antietam, and move over ground swept by 
artillery planted on every available spot. 

The Federal attack was to be similar to that 
made at South Mountain. Hooker's Corps, sup- 
ported by those of Mansfield and Sumner, was 
sent to the right to fall on the enemy's left, while 
Burnside was to assault his right. Hooker's 
Corps consisted of the three divisions of Generals 



BATTLE OF ANTIBTAM. 



125 



Meade, Elcketts, and Donbleday. Three o'clock 
in the afternoon of Tuesday, leaving our bivouac 
near Kedysville, and marching in rear of the 
first division, Eicketts crossed Antietam Creek 
at the upper bridge and the fording at Fray's 
mill, and continued moving to the right as far 
up as Hoffman's farm. 

The day was nearly spent when Hooker's 
Corps reached the position assigned it. There 
had been desultory firing during the afternoon 
in the direction in which we were marching, but 
for a time everything had remained in a state of 
quiet. Scarcely, however, did we come to a halt 
in a field of corn, before the enemy from a copse 
woods in front, opened on our ranks with in- 
fantry and artillery. The advance brigades came 
at once into action, and until ten o'clock the 
severe skirmish was continued. 

Thus began, on the evening of September 16th, 
the battle of Antietam. Stonewall Jackson had 
formed his main battle line on Miller's farm, 
and the force so early encountered was a body 
of troops thrown out three-quarters of a mile in 
advance. If General McClellan had attacked Lee 
on Tuesday morning, he would have had thirty 
thousand less troops opposed to him. Jackson's 
whole corps was absent, and only by a forced 
march from Harper's Ferry did it reach the bat- 
tle-field late on Tuesday morning. In the even- 
ing the troops were in position on our right, 
11* 



126 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



and the delay in tlie battle until Wednesday 
morning gave to Jackson and liis soldiers a pre- 
cious season of needed repose. 

As the men rested on their arms during that 
clear, starlight night, no one could doubt what 
the morning would bring forth. Ever and anon, 
throughout its wakeful hours, the fierce firing of 
the pickets reminded us of the presence of a 
stubborn foe. 

Just as the gray dawn of the morning of the 
17th streaked the sky, a volley of musketry, out 
on the picket line, changed the whole appear- 
ance of those once quiet fields. Up from among 
the stalks of corn, sprung ranks of armed men; 
while from sheltered woods and every rising 
knoll, the artillery of friend and foe was sending 
forth shot and shell. Hooker had inaugurated 
the great conflict. 

In front of General Hooker's position, with 
their backs resting against a skirt of timber, were 
the forces of Stonewall Jackson, consisting of the 
divisions of McLaws, Anderson, and A. P. Hill. 
They were the flower of the Confederate army, re- 
turned from their successful attack on Harper's 
Ferry, and placed opposite our right, because there 
were to be met the heaviest blows of the battle. 

When Hooker said, ''This is one of the world's 
great days," he must have felt what he expressed ; 
for his own enthusiasm was imparted to his men. 
ISTothing could withstand the impetuosity of that 



BATTLE OF ANTIETAM. 



127 



fii'st attack on the riglit to carry the rebel posi- 
tion. The enemy's heavy line of skirmishers 
fell back almost without resistance, exposing his 
main lines to a determined fire of shell and can- 
ister, from batteries run out within the closest 
possible range. Over the plowed ground that 
intervened, through the fields of corn, and into 
the woods beyond, were driven the shattered 
lines of the rebels. 

The fighting had now become general on the 
right, and heavy forces of reserves were brought 
forward to strengthen and hold the ground we 
had gained in our first assault. But in front of 
that woods into which the enemy was driven, our 
advance halted. Fresh rebel troops were coming 
to the rescue of their comrades. Volley after 
volley of musketry lighted up its dark bosom, as 
line upon line of Confederates issued from it. 

The fortune of the day seemed suddenly to 
change. The rebels were now advancing; and 
our own gallant lines that but a moment before 
moved through the cornfield in such overwhelm- 
ing force, came back broken and depleted. The 
watchful eye of Hooker took in the whole scene 
at a glance. 

" Send me your best brigade," was his message 
to Ricketts. 

In a moment, Hartsufl^''s Brigade, that had 
been in position on a slight elevation near the 
house of Joseph Poffenberger, came down the 



128 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



hill on a double-quick, through the open ground 
beyond, and into the cornfield; passing, as they 
went, the fragments of three brigades shattered 
by the rebel fire and now streaming to the rear. 

" I think they will hold it," said Hooker, as he 
saw that splendid brigade of veteran troops 
moving on under a galling and destructive fire. 

At the moment of entering the cornfield, a 
conspicuous mark to the enemy, the brave Hart- 
sufi" fell from his horse severely wounded. 

"Forward, Third Brigade !" rung out the voice 
of Colonel Coulter, who succeeded to the com- 
mand. 

"Steadily, but not hurriedly, up the hill they 
go, forming on the crest. 'Not a man who was not 
in full view — not one who bent before the storm. 
Firing first in volleys, they fired then at will, 
with wonderful rapidity and efifect. The whole 
line crowned the hill and stood out darkly against 
the sky; but lighted and shrouded ever in flame 
and smoke. There, for half an hour, they held 
the ridge, unyielding in purpose, exhaustless in 
courage. There were gaps in the line, but it 
nowhere bent. Their supports did not come, 
and they determined to win without them. They 
were there to win that field, and they won it. 
The rebel line for the second time fled through 
the corn and into the woods. I cannot tell how 
few of Hartsuff''s Brigade were left when the 
work was done, but it was done. There was no 



FIGHTIJ^G ON THE RIGHT. 



129 



more gallant, determined, heroic fighting in all 
this desperate day."'* 

The battle had reached a crisis on the right. 
Eicketts's Division exhausted itself in the vain 
endeavor to advance beyond the woods. Part of 
Mansfield's Corps was ordered in to their relief; 
but the general was mortally wounded, and the 
troops halted on the crest of the hill. 

It was nine o'clock, and all the fighting had 
been done by the Corps of Hooker and Mans- 
field. Presently Sumner's Corps came on to the 
ground, forming to the left of Mansfield. Still 
later, French and Richardson arrived, and about 
noon the Corps of General Franklin. But though 
the troops had fought only in detachments, — 
Hooker in the morning, then Mansfield, then 
Sumner, then Franklin, and Burnside far on the 
left, — the enemy had been pushed back from 
many of his strongest positions, and when wel- 
come night covered the ensanguined field, the 
vantage-ground belonged to the Federal army. 

In the thoughts of the men, daylight would 
renew the battle, and each soldier stood in his 
place, waiting for the coming dawn. But the 
whole of Thursday passed without any demon- 
stration from those lines, — still confronting each 
other, — that only on the yesterday were full of 
bitter hostility. 



* Geo. N. Smalley, in xY. T. Tribune. 



130 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Again the shades of night covered Autietam. 
E-icketts's Division held the extreme right of the 
army; and the general was cautioned to take 
care of his flank. McClellan determined to re- 
new the attack on Friday morning, with a vigor 
increased by one day of rest. But when Friday 
came, from every commanding ridge and hidden 
ravine, — from open fields and sheltered woods, — 
the enemy had disappeared, and the rapid Po- 
tomac rolled between the two opposing armies. 

The Eleventh went into the battle on Wednes- 
day morning, a mere handful compared with its 
former self, — nine commissioned officers, and two 
hundred and twenty-six men. The other regi- 
ments of the brigade were but little larger, for 
altogether it only numbered eleven hundred. 

Hoffman's farm-house — a substantial stone 
building — was taken for a hospital; and every 
moment, from the firing of the first gun at break 
of day, until they were relieved by other troops, 
the wounded were coming in from Hartsuff's 
Brigade. A wounded man naturally desires to 
be among his friends ; and by keeping the brigade 
together, the surgeons were certain that all 
would receive like proper care and attention. 

In what quick succession they seemed to come 
from that angry front. Scarcely eight o'clock, 
and seventy men of the Eleventh Regiment lay 
bleeding and groaning in the yard of that farm- 
house. When the battle ceased, five officers out 



SCENES IN THE HOSPITAL. 



131 



of the nine were disabled, and one hundred and 
twenty of the men killed and wounded. Of the 
eleven hundred of Hartsuff's Brigade that 
marched so steadily through that field of corn, 
only five hundred returned. 

From the field of Waterloo, after the battle 
had spent its fury, and in the midst of its reeking 
carnage, the Duke of Wellington wrote to a 
friend: ''I have escaped unhurt; the finger of 
Providence was on me." And those brave men, 
as they looked over that field of Antietam, 
strewed with the harvest of death, — through 
which they had passed unhurt, — with a manli- 
ness of heart equal to that of the English duke, 
confessed that the finger of God was upon them. 

The hospital is a place where one may look 
on the battle-field shorn of 

''The pomp and circumstance of war." 

To see those with whom you have been in daily 
intercourse,~with whom you have exchanged 
all the kind amenities of social life, and Christian 
fellowship, — to see these lacerated by gaping 
wounds, bleeding and dying, is a harrowing 
sight, from which you would gladly turn away. 

Many of the young men of the Eleventh Regi- 
ment came from praying families, and during 
the gracious revivals of religion that_ preceded 
the rebellion, some had made a personal conse- 
cration of themselves to the service of God. 



132 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Not only at Annapolis, but through all the sub- 
sequent campaigns, however wearisome the 
marches or fatiguing the duties, there were a 
few who could always find the time and the 
place to pay their vows to the Most High. 

Every foot of ground over which we marched 
and fought has a deep and abiding interest. But 
those secluded spots, just outside of camp limits, 
where the meeting for evening prayer w^as held, 
will live longest in the memory of all. Faithful 
to their Divine Master, they were also faithful 
to their country; and at Thoroughfare Gap, and 
Bull Run, and Antietam, the first to fall were 
from among these young men. 

There was one thing belonging to the battle- 
field not to be seen in our hospital, — its foul 
spirit of hate. The term foe was there forgotten. 
All were now friends. A soldier from Maine 
and another from Georgia — the one having lost 
an arm, and the other a leg — occupied the same 
pallet of straw. A South Carolinian, slightly 
hurt in the head, was the cook for himself and 
two severely wounded ]N"ew Yorkers. A volun- 
teer from Pennsylvania and a conscript from 
Alabama, sheltered under the same tent, were as 
fraternal in their acts of kindness as though they 
had fought side by side, and not in opposing 
ranks. 

With the earliest knowledge of Lee's retreat, 
a squad of surgeons and chaplains repaired to the 



ANTIBTAM AFTER THE BATTLE. 133 

battle-field. If any of the wounded that could 
not be reached during the first days' engagement 
had lived through Thursday, the object of our 
visit was to give them the speediest relief. But 
that field, furrowed by cannon shots and strewed 
in every direction with human forms, was a place 
of the dead. Cries of — water! — water! — uttered 
in tones of beseeching agony, fell upon our ears 
in the first hours of the battle. 'Now every 
tongue was still, and every heart had beat its 
last pulsation. 

Death came to many with musket raised to 
the shoulder, in the ver}^ act of firing; and in 
falling forward, the dead soldier kept fast hold of 
his gun. Others, again, lay on the ground, with 
arms wide extended, and the last look of anguish 
fixed in the rigid features. In a single row, with 
scarcely two feet between them, were eighty-one 
of the enemy's dead. It was a battle-line mov- 
ing forward, each man meeting death at the 
same instant. Such a volley, telling so fearfully 
on the front rank, was a complete check at that 
point ; for there were no indications here of ad- 
vance and retreat, as were seen on other parts of 
that ground, in the bodies of friend and foe fall- 
ing together. 

We had only to pass up through Miller's corn- 
field, and into the woods beyond, to find most of 
the slain belonging to the Eleventh. Writing 
the name of each man on a slip of paper, with 
12 



134 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



the number of the regiment and the letter of his 
company, and fastening it to coat or shirt, the 
graves of our comrades were so plainly marked, 
that when friends came to remove sons and 
brothers, we could point with certainty to all 
that remained of brave and loving hearts. 



CHAPTER III. 

ARMY OF THE POTOMAC IN REPOSE. 

Moving forward from the battle-field late Fri- 
day afternoon, Hartsuff '*s Brigade went into camp 
on a bluff overlooking the Potomac. The river 
was between us and the enemy; the firing heard 
at intervals during the day was away toward. 
Harper's Ferry, and each soldier, wrapping up 
in blanket, promised himself a night of needed 
repose. But our slumbers were disturbed near 
midnight by a frightened courier, who reported 
a large body of Stuart's cavalry north of the 
Potomac. 

The whole brigade was marched three miles 
up the river to guard the fording, and, if possible, 
intercept Stuart. The movement was sufficiently 
adventurous to arouse the most sluggish, as we 
passed over roads darkened by heavy forests, and 
every ear was strained to catch the faintest sound 
of tramping horsemen. 



CAMP IN WALNUT GROVE. 



135 



The troops were disposed along the roads lead- 
ing to the river to the best possible advantage, 
Colonel Coulter finding himself in the vicinity 
of his first explorations of the Potomac, under 
General Patterson. The watch was maintained 
until Saturday at sundown; but no foe showing 
himself to be near, the brigade was relieved and 
returned to camp. 

Those were glorious autumn days that followed 
the battle of Antietam. The camp of our divi- 
sion was in a walnut grove, on the farm of James 
Rowe, with the Potomac in full view. It was 
not easy to realize that the narrow, rocky stream 
rolling below was the same Potomac, of such 
majestic proportions, that we had crossed at 
Washington. The course of the river was like 
that of an unpromising youth, disappointing all 
the ill prophecies drawn from a mean beginning, 
and developing at last a sturdy and magnificent 
manhood. They were also days of masterly in- 
activity. Company drill and battalion drill were 
observed as usual. But however interesting such 
exercises might be to the new recruit, to those 
veterans, who had made their evolutions to the 
music of charging columns and bursting shells, 
all ordinary drill was dull monotony. 

There was business enough, however, at regi- 
mental headquarters. The numerous vacancies 
in the list of commissioned officers were to be 
filled, amounting almost to a reorganization of 



136 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



the regiment. Major Frink was promoted to the 
vacated place of Lieutenant-Colonel Martin. 
Captain J. B. Keenan, of Co. K, was made major. 
In Co. B Lieutenant Haines took the place of 
Captain Shanks, killed at Thoroughfare Gap; 
Second Lieutenant Tapp was made first lieu- 
tenant, and J. P. Straw second lieutenant. In 
Co. D Sergeant J. B. Overmyer was appointed 
captain in room of Captain Sees, honorably dis- 
charged; Jas. T. Chalfant, transferred from the 
JS'inth Regiment Pennsylvania Reserve Corps, 
first lieutenant, in place of Lieutenant Saxton, 
killed at Thoroughfare, and Sergeant F. J. Cross 
second lieutenant, in place of E. T. Tiers, dis- 
charged to become captain in another Pennsyl- 
vania regiment. In Co. E, Second Lieutenant 
H. B. Piper took the place of Lieutenant G. R. 
Dalby, killed at Bull Run, and Sergeant Samuel 
J. Hamill was promoted to second lieutenant. 
In Co. F, Second Lieutenant E. H. Gay took the 
position of Captain D. M. Cook, honorably dis- 
charged; and Sergeant Robert Anderson, of Co. 
K, was appointed second lieutenant. In Co. H, 
Sergeant Daniel C. Tubbs was made second lieu- 
tenant in place of Lieutenant Hj^ndman, killed 
at Bull Run. In Co. I, Second Lieutenant Jacob 
i^. Thomas took the place of Captain George A. 
Cribbs, who died of wounds received at Bull 
Run; and Sergeant A. Lobaugh was promoted 
to second lieutenant. Lieutenant Lobaugh died 



FORAGING FOR THE MESS. 



137 



at Hagerstown, of wounds received at Antietam, 
before his commission from the Governor of 
Pennsylvania reached the regiment. In Co. K, 
First Lieutenant "Walter J. Jones resigned; Sec- 
ond Lieutenant John Reed was appointed captain 
in place of Captain Keenan promoted, but died 
of wounds received at Antietam before his com- 
mission arrived. Corporal W. A. Kuhns was 
appointed second lieutenant; afterward promoted 
to first lieutenant, and Corporal Freeman C. Gay 
made second lieutenant. 

Since the death of Colonel Martin, it had fallen 
to the chaplain to keep the mess — now increased 
to more than the original number by the addition 
of adjutant and surgeons — in rations. We were 
so nearly starved in Virginia, that in a land of 
plenty each one's appetite seemed determined on 
making amends for past compulsory fasting. 
"Sold out," was the reply to inquiries for any 
kind of provender, made of farmers living near 
the camp. Then we had to enlarge the circle of 
our operations, sometimes in one direction and 
again in another. 

While the cook Strauthers, who always accom- 
panied us on these foraging expeditions, rode off 
a short distance further to secure some articles 
for which he had bargained on a former visit, we 
remained at Bakersville, in conversation with an 
old woman with whom we had agreed for a 
supply of shanghais. 

12* 



138 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



" Them chickens were raised for my own use; 
but I am always ready to divide with a soldier, 
even to the last half a loaf of bread." 

The old lady had no very flattering opinion of 
the Virginians, and was greatly delighted at the 
defeat of the rebel army. 

" Them Virginians always thought they were 
a heap smarter than the Marylanders. But I 
told them they had better stay at home; that 
they would tiud out to their sorrow we had just 
as smart people here as they had over there. I 
always said this fight would come some day. 
But they said I was dumb, and didn't know any- 
thing. Well, I don't know much ; but I know 
the good Book says the father shall rise against 
the son, and the son against the father ; and 
aint that so, now? I knew it would come, but I 
was never afraid that the South would whip the 
ITorth. It will all be right by-and-by, mind I 
tell you. I told my son John, the other day, that 
as I had seen the first of this war I should like 
to see the end of it; and John said, ' La, mother, 
do you expect to live that long?' Do you think 
the war will end soon?" 

The arrival of Strauthers, and his violent 
demonstrations in the chicken yard, put an end 
to the harangue. It was four miles to camp, and 
night was coming on. We could not even guess 
how much longer the war would last; but sin- 
cerely hoping that all would be right in the end, 
we took our leave. 



LOUISIANA VS, VIRGINIA. 



139 



That old woman in Maryland was not the only 
one to entertain a mean opinion of her Virginia 
neighbors. A Louisiana captain said : 

"There is nothing in Virginia to make any 
one fall in love with it. Her men are mean and 
her women ugly. I wonld trade off Virginia to- 
day for Maryland. I think there is more of the 
cunning Yankee and his cow^ardly disposition 
among the people of that State, notwithstanding 
their high pretensions to chivalry, than can be 
found among any other class of men in the Con- 
federate service. 

" There is General E,. A. Pryor, whose politi- 
cal and dueling reputation got him a military 
position for which he is totally unqualified. He 
is not only a coward, but a knave. At one of 
the recent battles he lost his command, and of- 
fered some of the Louisiana boys a fifty-days' 
furlough if they would point it out to him. I 
have heard aids to our generals say that they 
would rather be dispatched with orders for any 
other officer on the ground in time of battle than 
Pryor, as he is always the most difficult person 
to find, and when' found is usually posted as se- 
cretly as possible in some safe place." 

Sunday, Sept. 20. — Another delightful day. 
The clouds that obscured the early rising of the 
sun, gradually floated away, and toward ten 
o'clock the morning was as bright as though no 
threatening rain clouds had marred its early 



140 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



beauty. Six o'clock in the evening we held our 
public relis^ious services in connection with the 
dress parade. The sun had gone down behind 
the Virginia hills, as the regiment marched out 
upon the open green to the rear of headquarters. 
Almost every man in camp was present, each one 
manifesting by a becoming and quiet demeanor 
his interest in the duties of the hour. These words 
of Paul, addressed to the Ephesians, "My breth- 
ren, put on the whole armor," were read as a text. 

It was remarked that they must all have ob- 
served the familiar as well as kindly manner in 
which the Scriptures address us. The Bible is a 
gift from God ; but it came intermediately through 
men, men like ourselves, and therefore in its 
spirit it is like the address of one man to an- 
other. The Apostle calls us brethren, and as a 
brother he delivers his instructions. There is 
another thing that endears Paul to us. It is said 
that he was a soldier, and from the frequency 
with which he uses illustrations and phrases 
drawn from the soldier's life, this may be true. 
He talks about fighting a good fight; warring a 
good warfare; and of putting on the whole ar- 
mor as though he knew all about it. 

We are to understand Paul as teaching that 
everything that goes to make up the complete 
soldier is to be secured; no part of the armor- 
must be neglected. The brave, valiant, and suc- 
cessful soldier is always fully equipped. You 



A SERMON IN CAMP. 



141 



would not regard that comrade who should go 
into the battle with his cartridge box only, as 
fully armed; neither that one who, leaving his 
cartridge box behind, should take only his mus- 
ket. In order to put on the whole armor he 
must have both gun and cartridge box, bayonet 
and scabbard. 

A good cause, personal bravery, a spirit that 
will lead to death rather than turn the back to 
the foe, are essential parts of every soldier's 
armor. So far as these are concerned, you are 
fully armed. Your cause is the cause of human- 
ity. It concerns all peoples. Are there anxious 
hearts here in our own nation awaiting the result 
of this contest? There are hearts as anxious 
in every nation under the sun. We have taught 
other nations that man is free; that Grod has 
made him capable of self-government. We have 
taught them new ideas ; awakened in them new 
hopes. Through our teachings they have been 
aroused to action. If we succeed, a bright 
future opens to them. If we fail, a darker 
night, because of the already dawning day, 
closes around them. Our cause is good; it is 
our country's cause, — the country that God gave 
to us, and that bears the seal of our fathers' 
blood. As to your personal bravery, let the 
battle-fields of Cedar Mountain, Rappahannock 
Station, Thoroughfare Gap, Bull Eun, Chan- 
tilly, South Mountain, Antietam, speak. That 



142 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



you are ready to die rather than forsake the 
cause in which you have engaged, or dim the 
glory of your flag, let our thinned ranks tell, let 
our three hundred killed and wounded declare. 

This part of your armor is complete. But, 
according to Paul, my comrades, this is not the 
z^Ao^e armor; and Paul knew whereof he aflB.rmed. 
He was a soldier, and a courageous soldier, l^o 
craven fear entered his manly heart. He is, 
therefore, a jDroper person to teach, and his 
teachings ought to he regarded. We must ever 
remember that the circumscribed present is not 
the only field of action upon which the soldier 
who hears me to-day will be marshaled. The 
impudent foe, that threatens with insulting boast- 
ing, to demolish our fair fabric of State, is not 
the only one he is called upon to meet. We 
must remember that sacred as is our allegiance 
to country, laudable as is the ambition to deserve 
well at her hands, our allegiance to heaven is 
more sacred, and to be approved of God is an 
ambition higher than to be approved of man. 
Each one of us will soon overstep the boundaries 
of time, and enter upon the boundless eternity. 
Spiritual foes — whose name is legion — invest us 
on every side. The eye of the Almighty, looking 
through every covering, now beholds us. 

It is for this higher service, for this more im- 
portant field of action, and these more subtle 
enemies, that our brother Paul would prepare us. 



A SERMON IN CAMP. 



143 



And we may see in this kindly advice something 
of that regard which every soldier feels for his 
fellow-soldier. War may accustom one to scenes 
of carnage and bloodshed ; but war also devel- 
ops the most generous sentiments of our na- 
ture. Let a companion fall on the battle-field, 
and a score of hands are ready to raise him up. 
Let an enemy, wounded and bleeding, cast him- 
self down before you, and he is treated like a 
brother. Paul knew the soldier's generosity, 
and with a generosity nearly akin to it, urges his 
brother soldiers to put on the whole armor, that 
having deserved well of his country, he might 
deserve and secure the more enduring honor of 
heaven. 

How to secure this additional armor is an old 
story, my fellow-soldiers. The road to heaven's 
arsenal has ever been the way of the cross. Re- 
pentance toward God; an acceptance of Christ 
as our Saviour; a life of prayer, of trust, of obe- 
dience, of faith, puts us in possession of the whole 
armor ^ and equips the soldier entire. I must 
warn you against embracing that wide-spread 
fallacy, that the life of the Christian and the life 
of the soldier are so far apart as to make it ut- 
terly impossible for them to meet in the same 
person, and that the best soldier is the man who 
is least religious, or who has thrown ofi*, to the 
greatest degree, all moral restraint. 

Let me ask you what constitutes a good sol- 



144 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



dier? Certainly not brute force merely, nor an 
ignorant recklessness of life. Show me the man 
to whose courage and bravery is added a sense 
of his responsibility to God, one who believes 
that his motives and actions here are to give 
shape and coloring to his life in the other 
world, and I will show you the best soldier. 
If the path of duty leads him to the very mouth 
of the cannon, or upon the sharp points of the 
enemy's charging bayonets, will a preparation 
to die, and a sense of his acceptance with God, 
in the least degree interfere with the discharge 
of his duty? Rather has not such a one put on 
the whole armor; and who, more than he, is fit 
for such deeds of noble daring ? A profession 
of religion high tens every joy of life. It does 
not blunt, but quickens every sensibility; and 
yet with every joy hightened, and every sensibil- 
ity quickened, the Christian is brave to dare and 
bold to do whatever God or his country de- 
mands. 

Let me ask you another question. If we ne- 
glect to put on the whole armor from those more 
subtle foes to which I have alluded, who shall 
defend us ? Vice is always degrading. Every 
sin we commit detracts from our true manhood, 
and makes us mean and despicable in the eyes 
of the Almighty, in the eyes of good men, and 
in our own eyes. I am sorry that in this camp, 
and among our own brave men, so many vices 



A SERMON IN CAMP. 



145 



prevail. Some of you are profane; some are in- 
temperate; some are gamblers. How sad to see 
men who have nobly contended for so good a 
cause as ours, men who but yesterday were vic- 
tors on this hard-fought field, to-day captives in 
the hands of these gross vices. Kouse ye, sol- 
diers ! In the name of Jesus, rouse ye ! Put on 
the whole armor, and then you shall be able to 
meet every foe ; those of your country, and 
those greater enemies of your souls as well. 

There are loved ones at home who daily pray 
God to watch over and protect you. You can- 
not imagine with what intense interest every- 
thing from the battle-field is read by them. 
What heartfelt thanks went up to heaven that 
you had escaped where so many fell. But think 
you, comrades, they have no other concern than 
for your personal safety ? Dearly as that wife or 
mother loves you, fondly as that sister thinks of 
you, she would rather you had died on the san- 
guinary field of Antietam, by the side of your 
brave companion, than to return to her arms a 
thing loathsome and degraded by vicious habits. 
Every interest conspires, brother soldiers, to make 
*it our duty to put on the whole armor. Our duty 
to God, our duty to our country, our duty to self, 
our duty to friends, all require it. May you be 
thus equipped ; and in every contest, whether with 
the enemies of our country or with the enemy 
that leads us into evil, be always conquerors. 
13 



146 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



CHAPTER IV. 

TENT LIFE IN MARYLAND. 

October 1. — The new month made its begin- 
ning with a genial shower of rain, which lasted 
long enough to lay the dust, and give to the trees 
a greener and fresher look. It is now night. 
The moon rides through a cloudless sky; while 
the hum of the myriads of insects that swarm 
this sylvan retreat, and the ceaseless murmur of 
the river, on its way to the sea, mingle their 
somnific music. In the tent, as joint occupants, 
are the two surgeons. They have already spread 
their blankets on the ground, and though present 
in body are absent in spirit in the land of visions. 

The junior doctor is by himself. The senior 
and the chaplain are more social, and sleep on 
the same blankets. The junior has been spend- 
ing some time at the Sharpsburg hospital, among 
the rebel wounded, and we have voted him out* 
in a corner until he shall have completed his 
purification. 

We could wish all things that crawl but to 
contaminate and annoy, might be kept in seces- 
sia where they belong by right of possession. 



NIGHT EXPERIENCES. 



14T 



But even in this loyal State of Maryland, there 
are all sorts of creeping worms and flying bugs. 
They make of one's body, during the night sea- 
son, a common highway. Just at that delicious 
moment of human existence, when the substantial 
world is fading into that out of which dreams 
come, did you ever have one of those long-legged 
spiders take the dimensions of your face ? Or a 
black beetle persist in getting into your ear, 
while half a dozen over-large ants, mistaking 
your nose for an ant-hill, make a violent effort 
to stop up the channel through which you draw 
your ration of oxygen ? Then you never made 
your bed on the ground, overlooking the Poto- 
mac, in the State of Maryland. 

October 6. — One o'clock this morning, General 
Porter, on the extreme left, sent word that the 
enemy was planting cannon on the hills opposite 
Picketts's Division ; and that forces were moving 
up the Potomac. The headquarter tents of the 
regiment, pitched near the outer edge of the 
grove, and that might serve as an admirable tar- 
get from the other side of the river, were removed 
to a less conspicuous place. 

October 7. — All quiet along the Potomac. ]^o 
enemy has shown himself on the opposite shore. 
The extensive laundry operations afforded by the 
river, somewhat curtailed through the rumors of 
yesterday, are again as active as ever. General 
l!^'elson Taylor, who has been assigned to the 



148 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



command of the brigade, arrived this afternoon. 
We have lost the title of Hartsuff's Brigade, of 
which we had reason to he proud. May we make 
a reputation as honorable under our new name 
of Taylor's Brigade. 

During the last ten days our camp has been 
full of visitors. Some are here to see the battle- 
field; others come on the sadder errand of re- 
moving their dead to the quiet resting-place of 
the church-yard at home, or the family burying 
ground. 

October 11. — All not quiet on the Potomac. 
From Harper's Ferr}' to Cumberland there is 
confusion and alarm. If anything conceived by 
Lee could astonish one, the occupation of Cham- 
bersburg by the rebel cavalry would certainly do 
it. While we have been massing our army at 
Harper's Ferry, and sending reconnoitering par- 
ties as far south as Warrenton, the enemy steals 
northward around our pickets and invades Penn- 
sylvania. When will we be able to cope with 
this wily, and, one might almost say, ubiquitous 
foe? 

Sunday, October 12. — Last night the regiment 
was ordered out on picket, near where we did 
duty September 19th. It was merely precaution- 
ary, lest Stuart and his cavalry might feel dis- 
posed to recross into Yirginia via Piper's Ford. 
Returned to camp late this afternoon, where or- 
ders were in waiting to cook two days' rations, 
preparatory to march. 



Stuart's cavalry raid. 



149 



October 14. — To cross the Potomac from Yir- 
ginia into Maryland, at an unguarded ford, with 
one or two thousand cavahy, may not have been 
a great thing in a military point of view. But 
with that number of men, to make a detour from 
right to left of our army, through a densely pop- 
ulated country, compelling the surrender of a 
town of five thousand inhabitants, capturing 
hundreds of horses, and thousands of dollars' 
worth of property, and with all this booty, and 
without the loss of a man, to recross into Virginia, 
is something of a feat. If the enemy should be 
falling back on Richmond, as is reported, this 
raid will enable him to do so with better grace ; 
while to a large degree it neutralizes the good 
eflects of recent victories. 

October 16. — The move for which preparations 
have been making for several days past, is likely 
to be retarded for some time longer. The rain 
is falling heavily on our tent-roof, threatening to 
sink the fordings of the Potomac too deep for 
crossing. But if the night is dark and cheerless 
without, we have anything but a cheerless party 
within. Two of the doctors are engrossed in a 
game of checkers, while two or three ofiicers are 
discussing the battle of Antietam. Dr. Morris, 
the latest addition to the medical department, 
who weighs full two hundred pounds, in the vain 
attempt to adjust himself to an army bed, is 
loudly bemoaning the loss of home-sleeping com- 
13* 



150 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



forts, only appreciated in their absence. Pushing 
aside the checker-board, Doctor Phelps inquired: 

" Chaplain, did I ever tell you of that singular 
dream 1 had — if dream it was — after you left us 
in the hospital at Manassas?" 

'Not one of the company had heard it, and the 
doctor was urged to proceed. 

You remember that for more than a week I 
was on the sick list. The fight at Thoroughfare 
Gap, and the fatiguing march of next day to 
Manassas Junction made me so much the worse. 
Then came the tearing up of that old woman's 
house for a hospital. Scarcely through with that, 
the rebel cavalry made a dash on Manassas, 
capturing ambulances, drivers, doctors, and all. 
The horses and ambulances were appropriated to 
their own use; the drivers and nurses taken 
prisoners ; the wounded paroled, and the doctors 
marched off to Colonel Rosser's headquarters. 
The colonel generously dismissed the surgeons, 
and sent them back to take care of the sick. I 
returned to the hospital completely prostrated ; 
and for once you might have seen the strange sight 
of a doctor taking his own physic. The medicine 
quieted my nerves and produced a feeling of drow- 
siness. Lying on the bed, and conscious of every- 
thing around me, the two armies were seen con- 
fronting each other in line of battle. At the 
head of the rebel troops was a figure of giant 
size, that seemed to walk through our ranks with 



DREAMS AND VISIONS. 



151 



the utmost impunity, the whole Southern army 
following close behind. The Eleventh Regiment 
lay directly in his track, and the men were fall- 
ing to the right and left like mown wheat. The 
exclamations of horror uttered at such a sight 
attracted the attention of some one in the room, 
who came to the bedside to inquire what was 
the matter. What is the matter! Why, the 
rebels are whipping us. Pope's army is giving 
way at all points, in rout and defeat. You all 
know that the result of the Bull Run battle was 
nearly to the letter as seen in my dream." 

A long discussion followed on the philosophy 
of dreams and visions. It was certainly very 
ungenerous in one of the company to speak in 
that particular connection of Goethe's story of 
Dr. Faust, leaving us not only to infer that the 
huge figure at the head of the rebel army was 
the same well-known Mephistopheles, w4io 
formed such a close alliance with that ancient 
physician, but that the propensity to form simi- 
lar alliances still belonged to the profession I 
Perhaps it was the pelting storm without, that in 
angry blasts drove the rain against our tent, and 
went howling dismally through the trees, — a real 
night for the witches of Brocken to be astir, — 
that suggested the thought. 



V. 



CHAPTER I. 

M'CLELLAX SUPERSEDED BY BURNSIDE. 

Four days from the close of October, Ricketts's 
Division bade good-bj to Walnut Grove, and 
marched to Berlin. The delightful autumn 
weather was at an end, and with the beginning 
of winter. General McClellan commenced a new 
campaign against Richmond. 

]N"ever was there a more cheerless march; and 
though continued from three o'clock in the after- 
noon until midnight, so dark was the night, and 
so incessant the rain, and so slow the progress, 
that when we halted, the brigade had only made 
six miles, — not half the intended distance. Ber- 
lin, the destination of the first day's march, was 
not reached until the 28th. It was an inauspi- 
cious beginning, and proved prophetic of the 
whole movement. Two days later, the army 
crossed the Potomac into Yirginia. Passing 
through Lovettsville, Bloomfield, and Salem, 
Ricketts's Division bivouacked at Warrenton on 
the 6th of ^^'ovember. 
(152) 



FEELING AMONG THE TROOPS. 



153 



The ground was covered with snow, and a 
frosty chilliness dwelt in the air. But it was not 
the winter storm, with its moaning winds, and 
sleet and snow, that so depressed the spirits of 
the troops. It was the order, read to the several 
corps, dismissing Greneral McClellan from the 
chief command of the Army of the Potomac that 
filled all hearts with sorrow. 

Long after the patience of the country was ex- 
hausted by his hesitancy and want of decision, 
the armj still confided in their favorite general. 
The rank and file beheld McClellan only in 
the favorable light in which he first appeared 
among them, — as the organizer of the volunteer 
masses of the nation into splendid corps and 
divisions of well-trained soldiers. And when 
the ranks of that army were broken, and almost 
ruined by defeat and disaster, they remembered 
him as gathering up the fragments, reorganizing 
them, and marching through the victories of 
South Mountain and Antietam. 

It would be to insult the common sense of our 
citizen soldiers, to say they did not see that some 
one was to blame for delays and defeats. Why 
the Peninsular campaign was such a fearful fail- 
ure; why the battle of Antietam was not renewed 
on Thursday; why days and weeks, so favorable 
for military operations, were not afterward im- 
proved, were questions fully discussed. But with 
wonderful unanimity, all agreed in placing the 



154 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



blame anywhere else than on the chief com- 
mander. The authorities at Washington were 
charged with interfering with his plans and pur- 
poses; with withholding reinforcements and sup- 
plies; and when delays ensued, or defeat came, 
the whole blame was thrown upon the shoulders 
of others. 

In a record of the lights and shadows of army 
life, the removal of McClellan must be set down 
as one of the shadows. The appointment of his 
successor was a wise though unintentional stroke 
of policy. 'Nex.t to McClellan, GTeneral Burnside 
had the confidence and affection of the troops; 
and for the peace of the army there was more 
than happy chance in that selection. 

The Confederate army was concentrated at 
Culpeper, with a strong rear-guard in the Shen- 
andoah Yalley. Abandoning the plans of his 
predecessor, who intended to march to Gordons- 
ville, General Burnside proposed, by a sudden 
move, to throw his whole army on Falmouth, 
then cross the Rappahannock, take possession of 
the hights of Fredericksburg, and compel Lee 
either to attack him in that strong position, or 
fall back toward Richmond. 

The plans of the new commander were inau- 
gurated on the morning of i^'ovember 8th by 
detaching Taylor's Brigade from the rest of the 
division, and sending it as a support to Bayard's 
cavalry, doing picket duty on the Rappahannock 



burnside's campaign begun. 155 

from Beverly ford to Kelly's mills. Eegimental 
headquarters were established near Rappahan- 
nock Station. Across the narrow stream was 
Hartsuff's knoll. 

If the boys of the Eleventh had an earnest 
desire to cross over and drive away the rebel 
pickets by which the knoll was guarded, — a de- 
sire they executed in gallant style one clear, 
frosty morning, capturing the entire camp equip- 
ments and the half-cooked breakfast of the ab- 
sconding enemy, — it was because the scene of 
one of their early contests stirred anew the 
courage that held it, on the 21st of August, 
against such unequal numbers. 

While the Eleventh was thus employed, taking 
care of the bridge and river fordings, the main 
army was moving on to Falmouth. Pieasanton's 
cavalry relieved the infantry on the evening of 
the 18th, and setting fire to the railroad bridge, — 
rebuilt by the rebels since its destruction in Au- 
gust, — we rejoined the division at Stafford Court 
House. 

Before the army left Warrenton, General Hal- 
leck and General Meigs were in consultation 
with Burn side. The Orange and Alexandria 
Railroad was to be given up, and the troops 
supplied by way of the Potomac; the Aquia 
Creek landing was to be repaired, and pontoon 
bridges, on which to cross the river at Freder- 
icksburg, at once sent forward. These were 



156 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



essential parts of Burnsicle's plans; and to facili- 
tate these movements, a picked force of cavalry 
under the gallant Captain Dahlgren, cleared the 
raih'oad from Aquia Creek to the Rappahannock 
of all the enemy's pickets. 

But when the army reached Falmouth neither 
was the wharf at Aquia repaired, nor were the 
pontoons where Burn side expected to find them. 
The Rappahannock was too high to be forded, 
and for want of the bridges, the occupation of 
Fredericksburg was defeated. One day later, 
the enemy left at Culpeper was seen covering 
the opposite hights, and confronting us with 
bayonet and cannon on the south bank of the 
river. 

Burnside's force was composed of three Grand 
Divisions, commanded respectively by Sumner 
on the right. Hooker in the center, and Franklin 
on the left. It was the 9th of December before 
the several Grand Divisions moved forward into 
position along the Rappahannock. The purpose 
of the Federal commander to attempt a crossing 
of the river was surmised by the enemy, and 
those Fredericksburg hights, formidable enough 
in themselves, were terraced from bottom to top 
with rifle pits, and crowned with bastions. A 
feint was made, as though the crossing would be 
effected at Port Conway, twenty miles below, 
and a large force of the rebels had marched in 
that direction. The object of Burnside was now 



ARMY ON THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 



157 



to cross immediately in front, and throw his 
whole united army against the divided army of 
the enemy. 

General Ricketts had retired from the com- 
mand of the division, and was succeeded by 
General Gibbons. Gibbons's Division was at- 
tached to Reynolds's Corps of Franklin's Grand 
Division, the other divisions of corps being those 
of General Meade and General Doubleday. In 
the order of the battle, Franklin's Grand Divi- 
sion was to cross four miles below the city, and 
that of Sumner directly opposite Fredericksburg, 
while the center division of General Hooker re- 
mained in reserve. 

Five o'clock on the morning of December 11th, 
leaving our camp near White Oak Chapel, the 
Eleventh Regiment marched toward the river. 
The moon was high in the heavens, casting a 
calm, clear light on all beneath, while the air of 
the early morning was just cool enough to make 
the brisk walk at which the men started off im- 
part a gentle warmth to the blood. 

Passing through the several regiments formed 
in line, and waiting to fall in behind us, a group 
of officers were gathered around their colonel, 
who was addressing his men : 

''Keep your eye on the flag. If the shot and 
shell of the enemy break your ranks, let that be 
the rallying point. Don't crowd together. Give 
room for the balls to pass between you ; but 
14 



158 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



always rally on the flag. There will be hard 
fighting to-day, and every man must do his duty. 
Do your duty, and a grateful country will never 
forget you." 

The hour, — the foreshadowings of the day, — 
the full tones of the orator, were all impressive; 
and the good, round cheers that followed told 
that the speaker had an appreciative audience. 

At daylight the troops rested on the hills above 
the river. The bridges on which the Left Grand 
Division w^as to cross w^ere laid at the mouth of 
Pollock's Creek, and with little opposition. But 
Franklin was not to pass over until Sumner's 
bridges were completed. The opposition to Sum- 
ner was fierce and decided. Sharp-shooters, con- 
cealed in the houses along the river, picked off 
the bridge-builders with deadly certainty. Sev- 
eral of our batteries fired occasional shots into 
the city, but with what effect could not be told 
for the dense fog that enveloped it. We knew 
that the sharp-shooters had not been driven from 
their hiding-places, for every attempt to complete 
the pontoons drew forth a vigorous and fatal fire. 

The plain on which Fredericksburg stands is 
completely commanded by the hills of Stafford. 
Toward noon, the fog having rolled away, and 
the bridges still remaining unfinished, the order 
was given to concentrate the fire of all our bat- 
teries on the city. Riding a short distance through 
the woods from where the regiment rested, we 



BOMBARDMENT OF FREDERICKSBURG. 159 



were at a point affording a full view of Fred- 
ericksburg, and the position of many of our guns. 
Already the town was on fire in several places, 
and the flames of the burning buildings mingled 
with the white smoke of the bursting shells. 

One could not look upon an exhibition of war 
so sublime in its terrors without conflicting emo- 
tions. When all the time-honored associations 
belonging to Fredericksburg were remembered, — 
that a large part of the youth of Washington was 
spent there, — that for years it was the home of his 
mother, and her last earthly resting-place, — we 
could wish such a fate had not overtaken the old 
town. But when we reflected that sacred mem- 
ories and associations were no longer regarded by 
those who lived among them, and that the glo- 
rious past was forgotten in the bitterness of the 
present, there was a subdued feeling of satisfac- 
tion as the angry flames, approaching from differ- 
ent directions, threatened to leave the doomed 
city a mass of ruins. 

One of our batteries on the left had thrown 
several shot at a large house standing near the 
river, and from which could be seen issuing the 
smoke of the rebel picket, as in his concealment 
he fired upon our unprotected men. The chim- 
neys were knocked away, and a solid shot had 
broken through the roof. But every few minutes 
a wreath of white smoke, curling up from door 
or windows, indicated the presence of the persist- 



160 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



ent Southerner. The four guns of the battery 
were depressed to range with the windows in 
the lower story of the building. When the 
smoke of that last discharge cleared away, the 
front wall had fallen out, and carrying down the 
roof with it, crushed to death every living thing 
within. 

In the midst of this furious bombardment, at- 
tempts were made to complete the bridges. But 
each effort was ineffectual. Despite all the artil- 
lery tiring, the enemy lay concealed on the oppo- 
site shore. Impatient at the delay, and aroused 
to deeds of daring by the daring of the enemy, 
the Seventh. Michigan, under command of Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Baxter, volunteered to cross in 
boats, and drive away the sharp-shooters. It was 
an act nobly done. Rushing down the river 
bank, and filling the pontoons, the brave fellows 
pushed out into the river. More rapid than ever 
came the whistling bullets from the south shore ; 
more vigorous than ever they ^Dulled at the oars. 
As the boats touched the beach the men leaped 
forward with a shout, and forth from their hiding- 
places started the lurking foe. But swift of foot 
though they were, swifter were the musket balls 
of those sons of Michigan that struck a score and 
more of them to the earth, dead or dying. 

Ten thousand spectators beheld the valiant 
feat ; and as boat after boat landed its crew, wild 
huzzahs filled the air. Half an hour later Sum- 



ACROSS THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 



161 



ner's bridges were completed ; and from right to 
left the army was preparing to cross the Rappa- 
hannock. 



CHAPTER II. 

BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURa. 

A FEW troops on the left crossed the river 
Thursday evening, but not until the morning of 
the 12th did the entire force move to the south 
side. A dense fog covered hill and plain. The 
same ominous silence observed by the rebels 
during the bombardment of Fredericksburg was 
maintained. Their pickets slowly retired before 
our advance, and Franklin's Division crossed the 
bridges without drawing from the enemy more 
than a single shot. 

There was no longer any break in the rebel 
line. The troops that marched to Port Conway, 
in anticipation that the Federal army would there 
cross, at the discharge of the first gun on Thurs- 
day morning, hastened back; and now from Ma- 
rye's Eights, at Fredericksburg, to Massaponax 
Creek below, the Corps of Longstreet and Jack- 
son were in well-chosen positions. 

Running through the plain on which Frank- 
lin's troops formed their ranks, and in a line par- 
14* 



162 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



allel witli the river, is the Fredericksbui^g and 
Richmond Raih^oad. The railroad crossing of the 
Massapouax was the extreme right of the rebel 
line, held by Stuart's cavalry and a battery of 
three or four guns. JsText came the Divisions of 
A. P. Hill and General Early, with D. H. Hill's 
Division in reserve, forming Jackson's Corps. 
These troops occupied the low hills in our imme- 
diate front, and were joined on the left by Hood's 
Division of Longstreet's Corps. 

Reynolds's Corps, occupying the extreme left 
of the Union line, was formed with Meade's. 
Division on the left, Gibbons's on the right, and 
Doubleday in reserve. Gibbons's Division was 
in three lines of battle — Taylor's Brigade in the 
first line, Colonel Lyle in the second, and Colonel 
Root in the third line. 

Thursday was spent in laying the bridges, and 
Friday in crossing the troops and placing them 
in position. If that marching and countermarch- 
ing of brigades and divisions had been prepara- 
tions for a grand review, the enemy could not 
have observed it with less apparent concern. 
When the day closed, the pickets of Taylor's 
Brigade were across the Bowling Green road. 
Excepting here and there a solitary sentinel, 
scarcely a Southern soldier was to be seen ; but 
throughout the night could be heard the hum 
of voices, and the falling of trees, and the dull 
rumbling of moving artillery. A few indulged 



NIGHT BEFOEE THE BATTLE. 163 



the hope that the enemy would quietly slip away, 
leaving us in possession of the coveted hights, 
while others, again, argued little good of his 
sullen reticence. 

They were veteran troops that composed the 
Left Grand Division, and in view of the coming 
morrow, each man, hugging close his musket, 
was soon seeking rest for the present and endu- 
rance for the future in such sleep as only comes 
to the tired soldier. 

The Eleventh had not greatly filled up its ranks 
since the battle of Antietam. A few of the 
wounded had returned to duty; but altogether 
we only numbered on hundred and eighty officers 
and men. Colonel Frink and Major Keenan were 
in hospital. Adjutant Uncapher had lately re- 
signed. Doctor Jackson was absent on detached 
service. Doctor Anawalt had been promoted to 
surgeon, and was transferred to the 132d Regi- 
ment Pennsylvania Volunteers. Doctors Phelps 
and Morris were at the hospital on the opposite 
side of the river; leaving the chaplain the sole 
representative of the colonel's staff present that 
night before the battle. 

Saturday morning, December 13th, was like 
the several mornings that had preceded it. A 
thick haze enveloped the entire plain, and hung 
before the army like an impenetrable veil. Eyen 
our own pickets, though only a few yards in ad- 
vance of the battle-line, were hid from yiew by 



164 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



the fog. Toward ten o'clock, the rajs of the sun 
beginning to part the heavy curtains, the lines 
of Reynolds's Corps, from right to left, were or- 
dered to move forward. Scarcely quarter of an 
hour later, there was an irregular and scattering 
exchange of picket shots. Then came a volley 
of musketry, sharp and compact, and the battle 
had begun in fearful earnest. 

Those quiet hills, no longer concealed by the 
fog, were seen to be filled with cannon, enfilading 
every foot of the plain ; while from behind the 
railroad embankment, and from the woods be- 
yond, the double lines of rebel infantry dis- 
charged their rifles in the face of our advancing 
columns. The enemy had now revealed himself, 
and firing over the heads of our own men, who 
were ordered to lay close to the ground, a hun- 
dred cannon from Stafford hights were turned 
upon those woods and hills. 

An hour of such work as made the very earth 
to shake, and filled the air with fiendish sounds, 
was followed by a moment of quiet. It was the 
signal for a renewal of the advance. The plain 
was again a sheet of flame, as if ten thousand 
muskets had been discharged by a single touch. 
Again those reticent woods were sending forth 
sounds of death. But the Third Brigade moved 
steadily forward, followed by the Second and the 
First, within a few yards of the railroad. 

The Eleventh was on the extreme left of the 



OPERATIONS ON THE LEFT. 



165 



first line, and moving obliquely toward the rail- 
road, encountered the concentrated fire of the 
enemy. Three times had the flag been shot down, 
carrying with it at each prostration the brave 
heart that bore it aloft. But only for a moment 
was it suffered to trail in the dust. Others were 
there to venture limb and life in maintaining it 
erect in sight of the foe. Before the railroad was 
reached eight of the regiment killed and seventy- 
three wounded, including the colonel and five 
other officers, marked the ground over which we 
had passed. 

Through the ranks of the Third Brigade came 
Colonel Lyle, at the head of the Second Brigade, 
charging against the weakened line of the enemy 
across the railroad, and into the woods in front ; 
while the First Brigade, further to the right, 
making a similar move, penetrated the enemy's 
line, capturing two hundred prisoners. The 
Pennsylvania Reserves, on the left of Gibbon s's 
Division, were equally successful in breaking 
through the lines of A. P. Hill, and throwing 
them back on those of Early. Reinforcements 
were needed to hold the advantage we had gained, 
and to press the yielding rebels still more furi- 
ously. But reinforcements did not come. The 
enemy was quick to see the delay; and massing 
his forces at the threatened point, compelled us 
to abandon the ground so dearly bought, and 
that we ought to have held secure. 



166 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



It was late in the afternoon; and falling back 
across the Bowling Green road, the Eleventh 
took a position near the bivouac of the previous 
evening. Darkness ended the strife, and hill and 
plain, so recently thundering with artillery, and 
rattling with the sound of exploding muskets, 
were wrapt in the silence of night. 

On the north side of the river, occupying Pol- 
lock's mansion, was the hospital of Gibbons's 
Division. The large tents that were pitched on 
the lawn in rear of the house, and reserved for 
serious cases, were soon crowded. But a kind 
Providence cared for all. Thick matted grass 
covered the ground, and the mildness of summer 
was breathed into the air of December. 

At no previous battle had there been such per- 
fect sj^stem introduced into the hospital. A part 
of the surgeons were detailed for the operating 
rooms, while to the others were given the care of 
the wounded in the tents and out on the lawn. 
All kinds of supplies of medicines and rations 
were in desired abundance; and if the percentage 
of deaths among the wounded of the division 
was smaller than it had ever been, the reason 
was to be found in the character of the treatment 
they received. 

To the chaplain of the Eleventh was assigned 
the duty of keeping a general record of the 
deaths, and burying the dead. A spot of ground 
near the house was made sacred as the cemetery 



BURYING THE DEAD. 



167 



of our companions ; and with all the care and 
skill displayed by the surgeons, the performance 
of our solemn duty was painfully frequent. 

Dig deep, boys,'^ said the corporal in charge 
of the grave diggers. " The old man that owns 
this ground won't have much respect for these 
graves after we leave. He may level them down, 
but we'll show him that he caa't reach the 
bodies." 

If daylight of Sunday morning seemed to 
come too soon, it was because each one antici- 
pated a renewal of the desperate work of Satur- 
day. During the night, Gibbons's Division 
moved a mile further to the left, forming in the 
rear of General Doubleday. The same hazy 
cloud of yesterday hung over the plain, limiting 
the view to a few yards on either side. As the 
morning advanced, the boundaries of vision en- 
larged, until hill and plain were again in full 
sight. 'No change was to be seen, except here 
and there a tree, denuded of its top branches, or 
shivered in trunk and limb as if struck by a 
thunder-bolt, caught the eye. The enemy had 
relapsed into his former silence; and though 
once or twice during the day the lines were 
formed for an advance, none was made. 

Rumors began to reach us of a disastrous re- 
pulse on the right. Sumner's Corps, that was 
only to hold the enemy in check, while Franklin, 
supported by Hooker, endeavored to turn his 



168 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



right, had attempted to carry Marye's Hights, 
and utterly failed. 

The quiet of Sunday was continued through- 
out Monday. The Eleventh, under command of 
Captain Kuhn, was detailed for picket duty on 
the extreme left of the line. Three o'clock 
Tuesday morning the order was given to retire 
toward the pontoon bridges ; and b}^ daylight of 
the 16th all the troops had crossed to the north 
bank of the river. 



CHAPTER ni. 

AFTER THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 

" Hospital of Second Division, 
''Pollock's House, Dec. 18, 1862. 

" Chaplain William H. Locke, of the Eleventh 
Pennsylvania Regiment, is hereby detailed to 
proceed to Washington with the wounded of 
Gibbons's Division, Reynolds's Corps, Erank- 
lin's Left Grand Division. 

"Chas. J. I^ORDQUiST, SuT geon-in- Chief 

Winding round the base of Stafford hights, 
the long line of ambulances at last drew up at 
the railroad station. A train of cars was in wait- 
ing to convey us to Aquia Creek landing. From 



WOUNDED IN WASHINGTON. 



169 



thence to WasMngton the transportation was by 
boat ; and as our coming was expected, the cabin 
floors of the steamer had been covered with beds 
for the reception of the wounded. In many 
cases the bed was only a truss of hay; but it was 
a softer couch than usually invited the wounded 
soldier to repose. The transfer of six hundred 
men from the cars to the boat occupied us until 
after midnight, and delayed our arrival in Wash- 
ington until the next day. Surgeon-General 
Hammond, and a corps of assistants, were at the 
wharf, to whom we turned over our responsible 
charge. 

The War Department had refused passes to 
civilians to visit the front since the battle ; and 
the arrival of the steamer was awaited by many 
anxious friends. How each stretcher that passed 
over the gangway, bearing a bruised and muti- 
lated form, was closely scanned! Again and 
again the earnest glance turned away in dis- 
appointment. But the looking was not all in 
vain. In one case the recognition between a 
gray-haired father and the son who had left his 
arm in front of Fredericksburg, was so full of 
affection as to impart a joy to every beholder. 

Washington was in a state of intense excite- 
ment. Every one demanded to know who was 
responsible for the move across the Rappahan- 
nock; and, as usual, every one placed the blame 
15 



170 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



ou the Commander-in-Chief or the Secretary of 
War. Said a prominent official: 

"The nation is tired of the rule of these igno- 
rant pretenders; men who have never seen a 
battle, and yet undertake to lead an army sixty 
miles distant, by the click of the telegraph." 

Returning to camp a day later, the same spirit 
of discontent manifested itself. Ten thousand 
men had been killed and wounded, and yet no- 
thing was accomplished, not even a cannon or a 
battle-flag taken from the enem}^ 

With characteristic magnanimity. General 
Burn side assumed the entire responsibility of 
the attack on Fredericksburg. But every drum- 
mer-boy connected with the army knew of the 
disappointments to which the general had been 
subjected, and of the criminal neglect of those 
to whom important parts of the undertaking 
had been intrusted. It was also painfully ap- 
parent that there was great want of hearty 
co-operation on the part of leading generals, 
amounting to positive disobedience of plain and 
explicit orders. 

Franklin was to attack on the left, as that was 
the salient point, with his largest corps, and then 
to follow up with prompt and heavy supports. 
Sumner was to threaten Longstreet on the right, 
and thus prevent him from reinforcing Jackson. 
If the orders had been reversed, they would have 
been carried out to the letter. It was Sumner 



CAMP NEAR FLETCHER CHAPEL. 171 



that made the vigorous assault, throwing his 
whole Grand Division against those unyielding 
hights, and filling the streets of Fredericksburg 
with his dead; while Franklin, attacking with 
his smallest corps, left it to accomplish its won- 
ders of valor without reinforcements, and without 
proper supports. 

Moving back from the river, the line of de- 
fense occupied by the Federal army extended 
from Hartwood church on the right, to King 
George County on the left. On the ITorthern 
Neck, midway between Potomac Creek and the 
Rappahannock, lay Reynolds's Corps. The camp 
of the Eleventh was near Fletcher chapel, an 
unpretending frame building, thirty feet long 
and forty wide. The disproportion in its width 
was owing to an addition to one side of the main 
edifice, an afterthought, we were told, for the ac- 
commodation of the colored people, as the church 
was without the gallery usually appropriated to 
their use. 

The contour of this section of the iTorthern 
'Neck is peculiar, — a succession of sharply de- 
fined ridges and deep ravines. Getting to the 
leeward of one of these ridges, the quarters of 
the men were constructed along the sloping side, 
while the top of the ridge was crowned with the 
several tents that made up headquarters. There 
was no formal announcement that the army would 
go into winter quarters, but taking it for granted 



172 



STOEY OF THE REGIMENT. 



that active movements were at an end, the men 
made themselves comfortable to the extent of 
their ability. Excavating some eight or ten feet 
in length and breadth by three feet deep, the dirt 
was thrown up at the sides, on which a frame 
work of logs was placed. Using the shelter tents 
for a roof, an apartment was thus constructed 
large enough for five or six persons to live in. 
A fire-place, made through one of the sides, with 
an old barrel for a chimney, completed the heat- 
ing apparatus, in perfect keeping with the prim- 
itive style of the domicile. 

.December 31. — In two hours the year 1862 
will be dead. Personally, we must speak well of 
the dying. His daily visits have been full of 
blessings. In camp, on the march, and on the 
field, a kindly hand has been over us. Nation- 
ally, the old year has been one of disappoint- 
ment. The rebellion, dark and terrible, that 
1861 brought upon the country, we were led to 
hope 1862 would surely end. But it still rages. 
The hungry spirit of war, though devouring 
tens of thousands, cries for more. After twenty 
months of yaried fortunes, the enemy is proud 
and defiant as ever. 

January 1, 1863. — The winds that went moan- 
ing wildly through the live-long night the re- 
quiem of the dying year, have gone to sleep. 
'Not a cloud is in the sky, while the warm sun, 
now shining out brightly on camp and field, 



NOTES FROM DIARY. 



173 



drives away the frosty breatK of winter. Auspi- 
cious beginning of the 'New Year. May it fore- 
shadow to the oration the coming of its glorious 
summer! Lieutenant-Colonel Frink, who has 
been absent since the Bull Run battle, arrived 
in camp to-day and took command of the regi- 
ment. 

January 3. — Reveille at 6 o'clock a.m.; break- 
fast at 7; dinner at 12 ; supper at 5 p.m.; tattoo at 
9, with drills, guard duty, and dress parade, 
make up the routine of camp life, day after day. 
But this dull monotony does not extend to the 
world without. The President has issued his 
Emancipation Proclamation, and the slaves in all 
the States and parts of the States now in rebel- 
lion are declared forever free. "Events, not 
hours, are the measure of progress." 

January 7. — The breaking out afresh of the 
old wound has compelled Colonel Frink to re- 
turn home. Lieutenant-Colonel Batchelder, of 
the Thirteenth Massachusetts, is assigned by 
General Taylor to the command of the Eleventh. 

January 10. — There was a wedding at Belle 
Plain Landing this afternoon. Too late to wit- 
ness the ceremony, we spent the time that the 
boat was getting ready to leave for Washington 
in a familiar chat with the bride and groom. It 
was the same old story over again. They were 
both natives of Stafford County. The groom 
had enlisted at an early stage 6f the war in one 
15* 



174 



STOEY OF THE KEGIMENT. 



of the Virginia regiments. He was with John- 
son in the Shenandoah Valley, and at the first 
battle of Bull Run, and latterly in ITorth Caro- 
lina. But a pair of handsome eyes were ever in 
his memory, haunting him in camp, or bivouac, 
or battle. One dark night, while doing picket 
duty on the Edisto, so deep a yearning came over 
him, that deserting the picket post, and braving 
the dangers of many long and wearisome miles, 
he started for Virginia. After various fortunes 
and hair-breadth escapes by land and by flood, 
the deserter arrived in StaflPord County just at the 
moment the Federal army occupied Falmouth, 
glad to fi.nd himself secure within the Union 
lines. Those handsome eyes were now by his 
side, all his own. One of our chaplains had mar- 
ried him and them, and with a pass to Wasiung- 
ton, signed by General Hooker, he and his wife, 
without a friend, or even an acquaintance, but 
with implicit faith in each other, were to try 
their fortunes in the free and glorious l!^orth. 

January 12. — Except a small camp-guard, the 
whole regiment is out on picket. Since Stuart's 
cavalry passed around the right of the army as 
far north as Dumfries, picket duty on the left has 
been something more than mere name. Three 
lines extend from the Potomac to the Eappahan- 
nock, two of cavalry and one of infantry. The 
last line is within a mile of our quarters. The 
rebels make nightly visits to King George Court 



THE VIRGINIA SCHOOLMASTER. 175 

House, and tliere is a lurking suspicion that the}^ 
contemplate the larger game of falling upon our 
camp or of attacking Belle Plain Landing, from 
whence the Left Grand Division draws its sup- 
plies. 

On our way back from the outer picket line, 
whither we had gone in company with the divi- 
sion officer of the day, we came up with a citi- 
zen of the Old Dominion, clothed in regular 
homespun of the most approved butter-nut color. 
We found him ready to converse, and so, by our 
questions, led the way. We talked about his 
farm, whose boundaries were pointed out as 
marked by a "wattle fence," inclosing three 
acres, strict measure. Corn and potatoes were 
named as its principal productions. Two cows 
supplied the family with milk and butter — when 
there were no soldiers about; for the citizen de- 
clared that ever}^ Yankee could milk a cow as 
good as a woman, and that since the picket line 
came so near him, his wife was saved that 
trouble. 

The house was a frame building, of single 
story and a single room, with door and window 
in one. And yet so insidious is pride, and 
withal so exacting, that even there, in that hum- 
ble dwelling, it demanded a place, and the good 
man complained of it. 

" Times aren't now as they were when I was 
a boy. Then we spun our own cloth, and made 



176 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



our own clothes. But people have got too proud, 
sir; they won't have looms in their houses any 
more." 

The result was, that all the chickens they could 
raise, and the geese, and turkeys, and ducks, 
were sold in Fredericksburg to buy clothes, 
which, but for the pride of this later generation, 
might have been made at home. After he had 
finished enumerating the sources of his income, 
the Virginian must have detected the thought in 
our mind, — certainly it did not find expression, — 
that, putting all together, the chances for a living 
were still exceedingly slim ; for he added that he 
farmed only in a small way. He was a school 
teacher, and had been such for thirteen years. 
Here then was a real pedagogue. We were 
misinformed. They did have that useful person 
in Virginia, and we stood in his presence. In 
deference to the memory of other days, we made 
a low bow, and expressed ourselves as happy at 
such an unexpected meeting. The pedagogue 
went on to say that his stock of corn and po- 
tatoes, of poultry and pork was considerably 
increased by the useful occupation of school 
teaching, as in one or the other of these articles 
his pupils always paid their tuition fee. It was 
as good to him as money, he said, besides making 
it much easier for people who want to "school" 
their children to bear the expense, — an out-crop- 
ping of the same spirit of forgetfulness of self for 



NORTHERN CLAIM ON VIRGINIA. 177 

the good of others, that everywhere animates the 
brotherhood of teachers. 

If we rode on toward our quarters, thinking 
how many pounds of bacon, or how many pairs 
of chickens, or bushels of potatoes were con- 
cerned in the education of the Southern chivahy, 
it must have been because their camp-fires, on 
the opposite side of the river, beginning to show 
in the darkening twilight, called our thoughts in 
that direction. 

Thursday, January 15. — Private Charles W. 
Adams, of Co. B, died in hospital yesterday morn- 
ing of intermittent fever. The funeral was at- 
tended this afternoon by the entire regiment. 
We buried him near Fletcher chapel, in a pine 
grove, secure from the foot of the heedless in- 
truder. Almost every part of Yirginia has be- 
come sacred to us as the burial place of our com- 
panions; and each new grave is as an another 
reason why the Old Dominion must not be given 
up. 'Not only her battle-fields, but her grave- 
yards and highways bel(5ng to the E'orth as the 
endeared depositories of its noblest and bravest 
sons. 



178 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



CHAPTER lY. 

BURNSIDE TO CROSS THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 

For two weeks Burnside had been making 
preparations for a second crossing of the Rappa- 
hannock. Where the attempt should be made 
was dilficult to decide, and required a careful 
survey of a large stretch of river shore. The 
lines of the enemy extended twenty miles above 
Fredericksburg, and an equal distance below, 
while every fording of the Rappahannock was 
defended on the south side by earth-works and 
rifle-pits. 

A point below the city was thought to offer 
superior advantages for such a move ; and fatigue 
parties were kept at work day and night con- 
structing roads and bridging water-courses and 
ravines. But as far doWn as Port Royal, the op- 
posite shore differed little in formation from that 
in our immediate front. There was the same 
terrace of hills, and the same broad plain over 
which we must march, promising, in case of at- 
tack, no more favorable results than the 13th of 
December. 

Above the city, both sides of the river were 
alike, the bluffs running down to the water's 



TROOPS IN MOTION. 



179 



edge, and forming a deep gorge for the bed of the 
stream. The south bank was withm easy cannon 
range, and a crossing once effected, the carrying 
of the bights could be made by assault, where 
the advantage of attack or defense was much 
more nearly equal. United States Ford, ten 
miles above Fredericksburg, offered the best fa- 
cilities for laying pontoon bridges, and was the 
place selected for this new adventure. Great 
secrecy was observed in all the movements ; and 
on the 20th of January the Divisions of Franklin 
and Hooker, keeping behind the Stafford hills 
to evade the rebel look-outs, were marching to 
the designated point. 

The success of the present advance depended 
entirely upon the celerity with which the several 
departments of the army carried out the duties 
assigned them. Five bridges were to be laid, 
and the pontoons must not be a moment behind 
the appointed hour. A large force of the enemy 
was at Port Eoyal, and the crossing must be 
made before Lee could have time to draw in his 
extended lines. I^othing had been forgotten by 
the commanding general. The road over which 
each division was to march, where it would 
bivouac, and where park its wagon trains, were 
all marked out. 

For two or three weeks the w^eather had been 
charming, leaving the roads in excellent condi- 
tion for the movement of troops. But the men 



180 



STORY OF THE REaiMENT, 



had lost all their wonted enthusiasm. A mile 
from camp, the order of General Burn side, an- 
nouncing that the Army of the Potomac was 
again to meet the enemy was read to each regi- 
ment. The spirited words of the address did 
not awaken a single response. A moody silence 
closed the mouths of officers and men. 

Those were dark days in the Army of the Po- 
tomac. It had lost confidence in itself, and in 
its commander, and confidence in the Cause for 
which it had endured so much. E'ot only private 
soldiers, but general officers, maligned every act 
of the government, and talked of compromise 
with the South on the best terms that could be 
made. Men that had stood in their places on 
every battle-field of the Peninsula, and at Bull 
Run and Antietam, — many of them bearing the 
marks of honorable wounds, — were now desert- 
ing by scores. Private letters, received from 
difi:erent parts of the North, increased the feeling 
of depression by their desponding tone, or en- 
couraged desertions by their defiant language. 

From Western Pennsylvania one wrote : "De- 
serters are coming home rapidly, and meet with 
such countenance and encouragement, that it 
would be useless to try to arrest them. Any 
severe punishment there [with the regiment] 
would raise a storm of excitement and indigna- 
tion. The war seems to be more unpopular than 
ever. There is a growing disposition to fight for 



A WINTER STORM. 



181 



white men's rights, and to crush the despotic 
power now so intent on making these subservient 
to those of the negro. A revolution, peaceable 
or forcible, is pending in the IsTorth." 

Whether the successful crossing of the Rap- 
pahannock and a sight of the old foe would have 
aroused the flagging courage of the Federal 
army, is a question that cannot be answered. 
But in view of the vast interests at stake, it is 
well, perhaps, that an experiment so full of peril 
was not pushed to the issue. 

Long before the Eleventh had reached its place 
of bivouac, the clouds that overcast the noon- 
day sky were pouring forth a drenching rain 
accompanied by a tempest of wind. On an open 
field, without even the protection of a forest, the 
men pitched their shelter tents. Gold and stormy 
was the night that now set in, whose wearisome 
and comfortless hours seemed to stretch them- 
selves to interminable lengths. But above the 
beating of the rain, and the whistling of the 
wind could be heard the terrible oaths of the 
cannoneers and the bridge builders, urging for- 
ward their jaded teams drawing pontoons and 
artillery. 

Daylight of the 21st came through murky 
clouds and a drizzling rain. The march was 
continued within a short distance of the river. 
What a change in twelve hours ! The hard roads 
of yesterday had sunk two feet below, and the 
16 



182 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



army waded through a sea of mud. Pedestrians 
and horsemen, by slow plodding, and tedious 
windings, could barely navigate ; but everything 
on wheels was hopelessly bemired. Thirtj^-four 
pounders and twelve pounders ; commissary 
wagons and caissons; pontoon trains and ambu- 
lances, were at a dead lock, hub-deep in the 
mud. 

According to orders, the bridges were to be 
laid at earliest dawn of this day. One hundred 
boats were needed, but only fifteen had reached 
the ford — not enough for a single spanning of 
the river. A hundred and fifty cannon were to 
be posted along the overlooking hights — not a 
third of that number was up with the troops. 

The watchful foe on the opposite shore was 
now awake to our intentions. Still Burnside 
was many hours in advance of any concentration 
of forces that General Lee might attempt; and 
throughout Wednesday earnest efforts were 
made to bring up the artillery and the rest of 
the bridges. Double teams and triple teams 
were put to a single gun. Regiments of men 
pried at the wheels and pulled at the ropes, but 
the deceptive soil, so easy to penetrate, with its 
surface of sand, held fast in its under-stratum of 
clay by a grip impossible to escape. 

Thursday morning, new earth-works began to 
be seen on the other side of the Eappahannock, 
and by railroad from the right, and plank road 
from the left, the Southern legions were draAving 



BURNSIDE IN THE MUD. 



183 



near the threatened point of United States Ford. 
There was scarcely any abatement in the storm, 
and no improvement in the roads. The elements 
were against us. The time for striking a deci- 
sive blow had passed. 

Friday, January 23. — Again in camp near 
Fletcher chapel. Last night we were bivouacked 
in the woods, half a mile from the river, expect- 
ing every moment to be ordered across. To-night, 
knowing that the winter campaign is ended, the 
troops of the division are enjoying the log-cabins 
and clay huts erected weeks ago. So little con- 
fidence was there felt in the success of the last 
move, that the men did not destroy their quarters. 
There was nothing to do, on our return, but to 
put on the canvas roofs to make them as good as 
ever, except considerably dampened by the heavy 
rain. The order to move back from United States 
Ford came at daylight this morning. We reached 
camp about five o'clock this afternoon, having 
marched twelve or fourteen miles over roads 
whose like for mud we never wish again to see. 
One must be here, and tramp through it, to know 
the elfects of a few hours' rain upon the half sand 
and half clay soil of Virginia. The rebels are in 
high glee at our failure to cross the Rappahan- 
nock, and are giving expression to their joy in 
shouts and cheers that we can distinctly hear. 
Perhaps if they knew how many on this side of 
the stream regard that failure as the salvation 
of the Union army, they would be less exultant. 



CHAPTEE 1. 

BURNSIDE GIVES PLACE TO HOOKER. 

Three days later in the month of January, 
General Bnrnside was relieved of the command 
of the Potomac Army, and General Joseph H. 
Hooker appointed his successor. Franklin, of 
the Left Grand Division, and Sumner, of the 
Eight Grand Division, were also relieved of their 
respective commands. 

The announcement of these several changes 
was received by the troops with manifest uncon- 
cern. Who commanded outside of their own 
regiment — certainly outside of their own brigade 
— had come to be regarded as a matter of per- 
fect indifference. There was, therefore, neither 
regret for the departure of Burn side, nor enthu- 
siasm over the promotion of Hooker. 

Desertions were still frightfully frequent — 
counting up two hundred a day. Those who 
were successful in evading the pickets, wrote 
back to camp, for the benefit of others that 
might wish to leave, minute directions how to 
(184) 



ORGANIZED DESERTION. 



185 



proceed — what route to take, where the Kdc 
was weakest, and where to inquire for help. 

The route through Maryland was discovered 
to offer fewer risks of detection to the runav/ay, 
and therefore the most popular. Crossing the 
Potomac in small boats that could easily conceal 
themselves in the numerous coves along the shore, 
once in any of the lower counties of the State, 
the deserter found himself among friends, where 
he might change his attire of blue for that of the 
citizen. Wlien the picket boats were more than 
usually watchful, and the sort of craft in which 
the deserter took passage could not come from 
the Maryland side, the crossing would be at- 
tempted on the frailest kind of improvised floats. 
Many of these rafts, in the darkness of the night 
— the time always selected for such an adven- 
ture — are known to have been run down by 
steamers; and among the ''missing" on the 
army rolls, whose mysterious fate is still the 
wonder of the household, are those who thus 
ingloriously found a watery sepulture. 

Besides its bad effects on the men that remained, 
to lose by desertion at the rate of a regiment a 
week was no small drain on the material strength 
of the army. To stop this leak was the first con- 
cern of the new commander. A squadron of 
cavalry was sent across into St. Mary's County, 
Maryland, with orders to guard well all the roads 
running north. The picket lines in Virginia 
16* 



186 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



were also re-established and extended; but with 
little perceptible improvement. There was evi- 
dent collusion between the vedette and the de- 
serter. Even those that were apprehended and 
brought back, though in several instances severely 
dealt with, failed to prove wholesome examples 
to others. The true spirit of the soldier was 
gone. Politics had supplanted patriotism ; and 
a discontent, as broadcast as it was craven, 
wasted the efficiency of officers and men. 

At last the new feature of a complete system 
of furloughs was introduced. Two commissioned 
officers in a regiment, and two privates out of 
every one hundred men, were granted ten days' 
leave of absence at a time. Cleanliness in ap- 
pearance, and proficiency in the manual of arms, 
were also rewarded by furloughs. The publica- 
tion of this order was the first successful check 
to desertion. Every man had now a hope of 
visiting home, and for the sake of an honorable 
visit, could well aflbrd to bide his time. 

The door once opened, numerous letters were 
received by the commanding general from the 
wives of soldiers, asking a short leave of absence 
for their husbands. In all such cases the letters 
were sent to the several regiments, so indorsed 
by General Hooker as to secure a furlough to the 
happy husband of the interceding wife. It will 
be no violation of confidence at this late day, nor 
any detriment to the service, to mention by way 



A NEW BILL OF FARE. 



187 



of passing, tliat many of those wives were the 
veriest myths, with but an imaginary existence, 
or at best only wives prospectively ! 

Another measure of General Hooker, not less 
magical than the furlough system in its good ef- 
fects on the morale of the troops, and his own 
popularity as a commander, was the generous 
reinforcement of the commissary department. 
The blood of the men had become degenerated. 
They had lived too long on the low diet of hard 
tack, salt pork, and coffee. I^ow to Uncle Sam's 
bill of fare was added potatoes, onions, rice, and 
molasses — all unknown luxuries; — and the com- 
missary sergeants gave out that in the opening of 
spring, butter and eggs, and chickens already 
roasted, would be issued as regular rations ! 
Ovens were ordered to be built in every bri- 
gade, and soft bread, of an excellent quality, was 
given to the men instead of the inevitable hard 
cracker. 

With the Potomac River as the line of com- 
munication with Washington — a line perfectly 
secure from the interruption of guerrilla attacks 
— and a fleet of steamers, larger than that guard- 
ing the North Carolina coast, to convey supplies, 
the rations were as abundant in quantity as they 
were good in kind and agreeable in variety. The 
allowance to ten men for a period of thirty days, 
as compared with the actual consumption of a 
family of equal number in civil life, will show 



188 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



that the charge of starvation could not be suc- 
cessfully maintained against the military author- 
ities of that winter. 

To ten men in camp were issued in the course 
of thirty days three hundred pounds of meat; four 
hundred and thirteen pounds of bread — over two 
barrels of flour; thirty pounds of rice; ninety 
pounds of onions; forty-five pounds of sugar; 
twenty four pounds of ground coffee; ninety 
pounds of potatoes; four pounds of candles; 
twelve pounds of soap; one pound of pepper; 
six quarts of salt; three quarts of molasses; three 
gallons of vinegar. 

A regiment of one thousand men consumed 
weekly within a fraction of twenty-four thousand 
pounds of rations. Every man weighing not 
more than one hundred and forty-five pounds, 
during the four months of our stay at Fletcher 
chapel camp, consumed nearl}^ three times his 
weight in co&ee and sugar, bread, meat, onions, 
and potatoes. 

The winter passed through all the variations 
of climate peculiar to that region of Virginia; 
one day mild and spring-like, and the next day 
cold as the latitude of the Alleghany Mountains. 
But an improved condition of affairs soon mani- 
fested itself among the troops. There was a 
more cheerful submission to discipline, a more 
hearty discharge of duty; and as each man be- 
gan to think better of himself, he thought better 



ARMY KEPT EMPLOYED. 



189 



of the Cause for which he was contending. Well 
clothed and well fed, the old enthusiasm that 
carried the army through the campaigns of the 
former year was seen to return. 

Though there were no battles to be fought, 
there was work enough on picket, and in the 
details for fatigue duty, to keep all employed, 
thus driving away the evils ever attendant upon 
a stationary army. Thousands of men were en- 
gaged every hour of the day at the several land- 
ings where supplies were received, in unloading 
steamers and loading up wagons. Miles of cor- 
duroy road were constructed, leading from the 
numerous camps to Belle Plain, Falmouth, and 
Aquia Creek. Ancient highways and landmarks 
were utterly ignored in the construction of these 
roads, and the landowner will find the evidences 
of Yankee industry where he least expects them, 
and where he least desires them — sometimes run- 
ning across the meadow, and over the lawn, and 
through the barn-yard. For generations to come 
those old corduroy roads, so different from any- 
thing natural to Virginia in their vast expenditure 
of labor and skill, will be interesting remains of 
the great conflict. 

But with all this work to do, there were many 
leisure hours; and the chaplain could see the im- 
proved spirits of the men in the manner in which 
they employed their leisure. IsTo church choir, 
with its accompaniment of splendid organ, ever 



190 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



sent fortli grander sounds of music than the even- 
ing breezes then wafted from the group of men 
that used to meet in the clear, open moonlight, 
for praise and prayer. There was also a closer 
intercommunion, through letter w^riting, with 
the better associations of home, prompted doubt- 
less by the excellent mail arrangements of the 
army. 

Even the recreations of the camp took a dif- 
ferent turn, and wore a changed complexion. 
"With many of the men it was an impossible un- 
dertaking to convince them that there was any 
harm in a simple game at cards, only engaged in 
to pass the time, and where nothing was lost or 
won. But the game did not always maintain 
this assumed innocency of character. The morbid 
state of mind, growing out of the wide- spread 
discontent, found a momentary relief in desper- 
ate venture, in which officers and men alike 
indulged, and where the only support of depend- 
ent ones at home was oftentimes wickedly squan- 
dered. 

It was the sign of a healthier state of morals, 
as well as of physics, when the men began to 
seek recreation in the open air, in trials of phys- 
ical strength, and in the dextrous pitch of the 
quoit, or toss of the ball. And when, in the exu- 
berance of their spirits, a delinquent mess-mate 
was placed on a blanket made taut by the grip 
of a score of hands, and bounded ten feet into 



IMPROVED CONDITION OF THE TROOPS. 191 

the air, to come down again in the midst of the 
merry group, only to make a second and a third 
such involuntary upward flight, — it was alwaj^s 
more pleasant to hear the hearty laugh, over 
these rough out-door camp sports, than to reflect 
that, for want of the spirit to engage in more 
manly recreation, many were dissipating body 
and soul around the card-table or the dice-board. 

]^ot content with its own proper allotment of 
time, the winter made heavy draughts upon the 
spring months of March and April. Through 
much of the former month we were disposed to 
think that there had been an upheaving in other 
affairs than those of the nation, and that some- 
how March had jostled itself into the place of 
February. Such blustering and biting winds as 
swept over that northern neck of Virginia are 
scarcely more pleasant to think of than they were 
to endure. 

One particular night the winds made the camp 
of the Eleventh the point of their fiercest as- 
saults. Away down the ravines, and over the 
hills, we could tell by the deep and sullen roar 
that there was a gathering of those ariel troop- 
ers. Waken when we would, they were howling 
round the tent, straining at the ropes, and striking 
such angry blows against its sides and roof as to 
make one wonder whether the next minute would 
not leave him houseless in the unpitying storm. 

At last there was a momentary lull. Morning 



192 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



was nearly ready to dawn, and we thought the 
disturbers of our dreams had fled to their secret 
hiding-places. It was a fond thought ! Gather- 
ing all their forces for a mighty effort, before the 
sun should see them at their furious work, a 
thundering blast struck our tent. The long- 
strained ropes parted in every strand. The sides, 
first collapsing, were thrown madly back upon 
the roof, while unseen arms, catching up the 
ruined tent, hurled it to the ground fifty feet 
distant. 

The same rude blast that carried away our 
house stripped the bed whereon we lay of all its 
covering, and but for the timely assistance of the 
thoughtful quartermaster, we should have been 
left to meet the keen morning weather with far 
less covering than that required by army regula- 
tions. 

But the March winds, hardening the mud, put 
a new bottom in the worn-out Virginia roads, 
and early in April, thro*ughout every department 
of the troops, there was the usual hurry attend- 
ant on an important movement. Discarding the 
Right, Left, and Center Grrand Divisions, Hooker 
had reorganized his army into corps. The First 
Corps, under command of General John F. Rey- 
nolds, included the Divisions of Wadsworth, 
Doubleday, and Robinson, to the latter of which 
belonged the Eleventh. 

The roll of the drum and the sound of thebu- 



PREPARATIONS TO MARCH. 



193 



gle called forth from the log cabins and clay huts, 
in which they had passed a third of the year, 
one hundred thousand men. It was the opening 
of the spring campaign, and Hooker was to re- 
peat the undertaking in which Burnside had 
twice signally failed. 



CHAPTER n. 

THE CHANCELLORVILLE CAMPAIGN. 

Every possible crossing of the Rappahannock 
had been rendered doubly secure by the indus- 
trious enemy, and the game of strategy com- 
menced now was more desperate than ever. • 
Stoneman's cavalry had already started on its 
perilous journey to the rear of the rebel army, 
designed to sever all communication with Rich- 
mond. Doubleday's Division of the First Corps 
was sent to Port Conway, and kindling fires along 
the route gave out the impression of a large 
force preparing to cross there. Following after 
Stoneman were the three corps of Slocum, How- 
ard, and Meade. Marching far to the right, and 
crossing first the Rappahannock and then the 
Rapidan, these corps were concentrated in the 

n 



194 



STOKY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Wilderness, near Chancellorville, before the 
foiled and baffled enemy knew where the Fed- 
eral commander intended to strike his first blow. 

Longstreet's Corps was absent from our front, 
operating in the neighborhood of Suffolk. A 
part of Lee's forces had been drawn off in the 
direction of Port Conway, and further to divert 
attention from the right, on the afternoon of 
April 28th the First Corps moved directly toward 
the Eappahannock. There was now no lurking 
suspicion that the Eleventh would ever again oc- 
cupy the old camp. Quarters that had bean built 
with great care, and at an outlay of much mus- 
cle — in keeping with true soldier policy to destroy 
w^hat cannot be used — were either leveled to the 
ground or given to the flames. 

A short march, of two or three miles, and we 
bivouacked in the woods until three o'clock next 
morning. Then continuing the advance, by day- 
light of the 29th the corps was massed along the 
river, in front of the Fitzhugh house. Over 
against us, clothed in the bright green of spring, 
were those murderous bights and that fatal plain 
of the last December. But neither the recollec- 
tion of former defeat, nor the threatening line of 
rifle-pits occupied by the enemy, abated the ar- 
dor of the men. The pontoons were quickly laid, 
and Wads worth's Division crossed to the south 
side, losing in the transit nine men killed and 
forty or fifty wounded, but clearing out the rifle- 



FIRST CORPS ON THE LEFT. 



195 



pits witli a loss to the enemy of twenty-three 
killed and one hundred prisoners. 

Fitzliugh mansion was the residence of Major 
I^orman Fitzhugh, of the Confederate army. The 
estate contained a thousand acres, and from the 
broad veranda in front of the dwelling was pre- 
sented a scene of rare landscape loveliness. The 
parlor carpets had been taken up and sent to 
the Richmond hospitals, to be used as substitutes 
for blankets, but there still remained costly tables 
and sideboards, elegant chairs and sofas, and rich 
adornings of damask curtains, and choice paint- 
ings. These parlors were converted into a hos- 
pital, and amid such surroundings we attended 
our wounded, while the surgeons spread their 
amputating tables in the spacious hall. 

"When was your master home, uncle?" we 
inquired of an old servant. 

"Only 'tother day, sah. He is in de camp jist 
across de riber, dah. He can see now all dat's 
gwine on ober here." 

Early on the morning of the 30th, the enemy 
was seen moving up the river in considerable 
force, and filing off behind the Fredericksburg 
hights. Turning our guns upon the column, 
that came within easy range at the fording of 
Massaponax Creek, we attracted the fire of seve- 
ral rebel batteries, that for an hour devoted them- 
selves to the destruction of our pontoon bridges. 
One shell, exploding in the Thirteenth Massa- 



196 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



chusetts, that lay to our right, killed Captain 
Bush and five men, and severely wounded ten 
others. 

Occasionally, through the night of the 29th, 
as the First Corps still maintained its position on 
the left, a cannon discharge was heard high up 
the river, indicating important movements in 
other parts of the field. With morning came a 
dispatch from General Hooker, announcing that 
the operations on the right had been so success- 
ful that the enemy would be compelled to come 
out from behind his intrenchments, and fight on 
open ground, or give up his strongly fortified 
position. The Union army had an abiding faith 
that on an open field it must be victorious, and the 
announcement was received with shouts so loud 
and long that the rebel column halted in its 
march, startled by the awakened echoes. 

Saturday, May 2d, Fitzhugh hospital was 
given up to those wounded on Wednesday and 
Thursday, and the First Corps marched to Chan- 
cellorville. Besides sixty rounds of ammunition, 
the men carried in their haversacks eight days' 
rations. Thus equipped, those twenty miles were 
a fatiguing march ; but every belching cannon 
seemed to tell that our presence was needful to 
success, and the men toiled bravely on. It was 
midnight when the Eleventh, at the head of the 
Third Division, reached the banks of the Rappa- 
hannock. Filing down the narrow and tortuous 



IXTO THE WILDERNESS. 



197 



road to the river, and crossing at United States 
Ford, on the opposite side we entered the ^Yil- 
derness. 

Is ever was a dreary and desolate belt of conn- 
try more properly named. It is a region of dense 
woods, not of large trees, but of gnarled and ill- 
shapen oak, so thickly studding the ground, 
which in many places is broken and marshy, 
that a man could hardly march through it with- 
out trailing his musket. But the Wilderness on 
that night was a scene of appalling grandeur. 
The bursting shells had iguited the dry leaves, 
and the red flames, running up the tree trunks 
and enveloping the highest branches, made the 
whole country like an ocean of tire. 

Up to Saturday afternoon, all had gone well at 
Chancellorville. Considering the nature of the 
ground, the troops were in admirable position for 
attack or defense, patiently awaiting the devel- 
opment of Greneral Hooker's plans. Toward 
four o'clock a suspicious movement was observed 
on the part of the enemy. Stonewall Jackson, 
with a force of forty thousand men, was coming 
around on our right flank. Whether it was a re- 
treat, or a contemplated attack upon some point 
of the line, did not at once appear. The column 
was a mile distant, marching along the plank 
road leadino^ from Fredericksbura^ to Gordons- 
vihe; and to ascertain its destination, a division 
of the Third Corps was pushed out on a recon- 
17* 



198 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



noissance. It was soon found that whatever else 
the movement meant, it did not mean a retreat, 
and another division of the same corps, with a 
part of Pleasanton's cavalry, was also sent for- 
ward. 

It was now dark, and falling upon the flank of 
Jackson, the advance of the Third Corps prom- 
ised to be a brilliant success. But meanwhile 
the enemy, acting out the peculiar strategy of 
Jackson, massed a heavy force in front of the 
Eleventh Corps holding the Federal right; and 
without throwing forward so much as a skirm- 
isher, hurled his whole force against that one 
point of our line. Unable to resist the impetu- 
ous assault, and stricken with panic, the entire 
corps gave way. Scarcely a shot was fired in 
their desperate haste, and the mass of fugitives 
throwing away guns and haversacks, and stam- 
peding artillery and ambulances, well-nigh con- 
founded the whole field. 

While these terrified troops were thus stream- 
ing to the rear by hundreds, others, throwing 
themselves into the deserted place, were perform- 
ing deeds of heroic valor. G-eneral Pleasanton, 
coming to the right with two regiments of cav- 
alry, took in at one glance the whole measure of 
the catastrophe. The rebels were already in 
rear of our troops, and still pressing onward. 
"I saw," said the general, "that it was a critical 
moment. Calling Major Keenan, of the Eighth 



Jackson's flank attack. 



199 



Pennsylvania Cavalry, I said to him, 'Major, you 
must charge into the woods with your regiment, 
and hold the rebels until I can get some of these 
abandoned guns into position. You must do it 
at all cost-' I gave this order to the major be- 
cause I knew his character so well ; that he was 
the man for the occasion. He replied to me with 
a smile on his face, though it was almost certain 
death : 

"'General, I will do it.' 

" He then started in with his whole regiment 
of about four hundred men. It was one of the 
most gallant charges of the war. The major 
was killed at the head of his troops, but he 
alarmed the enemy so much that I gained about 
ten minutes of precious time. I immediately 
run up my horse battery at a gallop, put it into 
position, ordered it unlimbered and double- 
shotted with canister, and directed the men to 
aim at the ground line of the parapet that the 
Eleventh Corps had thrown up, about two hun- 
dred yards off. I then set to work with two 
squadrons of the remaining regiment to clear this 
field of fugitives, and to stop what cannon and 
ammunition that we could and put them in posi- 
tion. I managed to get twenty-two guns loaded, 
double-shotted, and aiming on this space in front 
of us The whole woods now appearad to be 
alive with men. I had ordered the pieces not to 
fire unless I gave the word, because I wanted the 



200 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



effect of an immense shock. Presently the rebels 
commenced leaping over the parapet, and as they 
did so, I saw eight or ten battle-flags run up the 
line. I immediately gave the order— — and 
the fire actually swept the men away; it seemed to 
blow those men in front clean over the parapet." 

Sunday morning the battle was renewed on 
this disputed part of the field. But though the 
rebels came to the work with great spirit, their 
attacks showed the absence of the intrepid Stone- 
wall Jackson. In the assault of the night be- 
fore, either by the shots of his own n^en or the 
murderous fire of Pleasanton, Jackson had been 
mortally wounded, and the hero of so many bat- 
tles was now far to the rear, in a dying condition. 

The same volley that struck Jackson to the 
ground, killed, wounded, or dismounted his entire 
escort, except one aid-de-camp and a signal officer. 
In removing the dying general to the rear, one of 
the men carrying the stretcher on which he lay 
was shot through both arms, and dropped his 
burden. His companion did likewise, hastily 
flying from the dangerous locality, and but for 
one of the ofiicers present, who caught the han- 
dle of the litter, it would have fallen to the 
ground. 

"Under these circumstances the litter was 
lowered into the road, and the officers lay down 
by it to protect themselves in some degree from 
the merciless hurricane of grape and canister 



DEATH OF STOXEWALL JACKSON. 



201 



which, whistled through the air. They lay in 
this manner withont moving, and in the midst 
of the most terrific confusion. A few minutes 
before, the road had been crowded, and now no 
man or beast was visible except those writhing 
in the agonies of death. The wounded soldier 
and his companions were the sole living human 
beings upon the gloomy scene.""^ 

The rout of the Eleventh Corps lost to Hooker 
the key of the position at Chancellorville. But 
the original line was maintained throughout the 
night, though at great disadvantage, for the pur- 
pose of co-operatiug with the movement of Gen- 
eral Sedgwick on the left. The First Corps took 
position on the right of the army, with Kobin- 
son's Division as the extreme right of the corps. 
Occupying the center of the division, Taylor's 
Brigade was thrown across the road leading to 
Ely's Ford on the Rapidan. Excepting the nar- 
row road in front, and here and there a bare 
place of several yards in extent, this part of the 
line was a dense woods. Into the deep under- 
brush, the ^s'inth iTew York was deployed as 
pickets, while the rest of the brigade strength- 
ened the position by throwing up intrenchments. 
Thompson's Pennsylvania Battery was also added 
to the force, which completed the preparations for 
a stubborn resistance, should the enemy again 
attempt to break through the right. 



^ Cooke's Life of Jackson. 



202 



STORY OF THE REGIMENTi 



Though the attack of Sunday morning did not 
reach our inamediate front, many of the enemy's 
wounded, lost in that entangled wilderness, came 
within our lines and were captured. A half-fam- 
ished rebel picket, leaving his musket in charge 
of a companion, crawled a few feet through 
the brush, where the ground seemed to slope a 
little, to a marshy spot that promised a canteen 
full of water. So near were the opposing lines, 
and yet so completely hidden from each other, 
that those few feet brought the Georgia ranger 
within reach of our own watchful picket, keep- 
ing guard on the counter slope of the same shal- 
low ravine.. 

Monday morning was ushered in by a daring 
attempt, some distance to the left, near the Rap- 
pahannock. Discovering a wide gap in the Fed- 
eral lines, the enemy boldly pushed forward four 
guns to the brow of the river hill, and discharged 
their contents into our wagon train, parked on 
the north side. It was the last fire of that bat- 
tery against us. Closing up the gap, and before 
they had time to reload, gunners and guns were 
added to the list of captives. 

G-eneral Sedgwick had taken the hights of 
Fredericksburg, and was reported as marching 
up in rear of the rebels. As we sat behind our 
intrenchments, listening to the heavy sound of 
exploding cannon, we tried to imagine that each 
distinct report was coming nearer. Later in the 



FIRST CORPS ON THE RIGHT. 



203 



day, attention was diverted from the left to the 
front. So fierce was the fire of musketry and 
artillery, that for a moment it was believed that 
Sedgwick had driven the entire rebel army upon 
us ; and that they were determined to make up 
on the right what they were certainly losing on 
the left. 

When comparative quiet was restored, the 
Ninety-seventh 'New York, that had relieved the 
Mnth New York of picket duty, was in turn re- 
lieved by the Eleventh. There was evident un- 
easiness all along the rebel front; but the frequent 
alarms throughout the night, when the discharge 
of a single gun drew forth the fire of the whole 
picket line, made another attack like that of 
Saturday night impossible. 

Tuesday morning. May 5th, General Hooker's 
plans had entirely miscarried. Compelled to 
retire from his first line at Chancellorville by the 
breaking of the Eleventh Corps, there was an 
equally disastrous failure on the part of General 
Sedgwick to carry out the operations assigned 
to him. Instead of uniting his forces with 
those on the right, the advantage of the cap- 
ture of Fredericksburg hights was all lost; and 
to save his command from destruction or cap- 
ture, Sedgwick was compelled to retire by way 
of Bank's Ford to the north side of the Rappa- 
hannock. 

Hooker now determined to withdraw from 



204 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Chancellorville. The movement was to com- 
mence on Monday night. But a heavy rain- 
storm, swelling the river to flood-hight, and 
making it necessary to take up one of the pon- 
toon bridges to lengthen the remaining two, de- 
layed the crossing until Tuesday. The retrograde 
march was from left of the line to right. Early 
Wednesday morning Colonel Coulter was ordered 
to call in the Eleventh, still on picket, as quietly 
as possible. An hour later, the regiment was 
concentrated in the intrenchments, now aban- 
doned by all but the One-hundred-and-seventh 
Pennsylvania. We were the rear-guard of the 
army. 

Moving quickly back toward the river, with 
flanks and rear protected by a strong line of 
skirmishers, of all the thousands of men who 
had marched over that ground, and the hundreds 
of wagons and artillery that were going and com- 
ing night and day for a week past, nothing was 
to be seen. The fire that blazed so furiously 
in the midnight of Saturday, had burned far 
into the woods, leaving the road-side lined with 
charred and smouldering tree trunks, while here 
and there a noble oak, growing among its meaner 
kind, and more tenacious of life than they, pre- 
sented in that early morning a heart still glowing 
with fire. 

I^ot a foe followed our retreat; and by eight 
o'clock of the 6th of May, the army of General 



RETREAT FROM THE WILDERNESS. 205 



Hooker, excepting the brave men that lay dead 
or wounded on the field, had recrossed the Rap- 
pahannock. 



CHAPTER III. 

AFTER THE BATTLE OF CHANOELLORVILLE. 

The heavy rain that threatened to carry down 
the pontoon bridges, and leave Hooker without 
a way of retreat from the Wilderness, had a 
damaging effect upon the fine smooth roads over 
which, but a few days before, the army had 
marched to Chancellorville, In the depth of the 
mud, now worked up to the consistency of thin 
mortar by the troops that preceded us, the rear- 
guard had much to remind it of the muddy 
march of the last January. But unincumbered 
by either wagons or artillery, the men picked 
their way, as best they could, first on one side of 
the road, then on the other, bivouacking at night 
two miles above Falmouth. 

A depot of rations, found not far from the 
ford, without commissary sergeant or guard, was 
seized as public property, from which the men 
replenished their empty haversacks. Thus pro- 
vided for an ample feast, after the hurried eating 
on the battle-field, which is never scarcely better 
18 



206 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



than a semi-fast, the hour of bivouac was heartily 
welcomed. 

Hooker's new line of defense was nearer the 
Eappahannock than that maintained during the 
winter, throwing the First Corps still further 
down the E'orthern I^eck, and bringing the 
camps of the Third Division some distance below 
the mouth of Mattaponax Creek. One day later 
than the rest of the troops, the Eleventh joined 
the division, once more taking position on the 
extreme left, and again near the outer line of 
pickets. 

There was no longer any need of winter 
quarters ; but the warm sun, every day growing 
warmer, suggested a protection from its exhaust- 
ing heat, which was dignified with the home- 
sounding title of summer-house. A frame-work 
of saplings, so constructed as to cover the top of 
the tent and extend some distance in front of it, 
was overlaid with branches of spruce and hem- 
lock, making a roof that at once screened us 
from the rays of the sun, and threw an agreeable 
shade around our. canvas dwellings. 

Within the shadow of these bowers was dis- 
cussed the successes and failures of the last bat- 
tle. In the Union army, where every man had 
access to newspapers containing such admirable 
correspondence from every part of the field, all 
the different points of a campaign came very 
soon to be well understood and freely canvassed. 



FEELI]S^G AMONG THE TROOPS. 



207 



It cannot be said that the failure of Chancel- 
lorville had any bad effect on the troops other 
than that it was a disappointment. There had 
not been enough of hard marching or nnsnccess- 
fnl fighting to dishearten them. A compara- 
tively small part of the army was actually en- 
gaged with the enemy, and the larger part that 
remained idle in the hearing of guns and in 
the sight of battle-lines, felt disappointed that 
the whole of General Hooker's splendid army 
had not been brought against Lee; as in that 
event victory would have been certain. 

The men of the army always spoke of their 
commander as "Fighting Joe." Playing upon 
that familiar mode of expression, the rebels now 
called him Fallen Joe." But though Hooker had 
failed of positive success in the Wilderness, he 
had crossed the Rappahannock; surprised the 
enemy in his intrenchments ; captured five thou- 
sand prisoners, and disabled eighteen thousand 
of his chosen troops. The battle of Chancel lor- 
ville was accepted rather as an earnest of what 
Hooker could do, than a proof of what he had not 
done. 

IN'ot far from the camp of the Eleventh was 
another of those Virginia mansions, resembling 
in its generous dimensions, as in its internal 
finish and outward beauty of grounds, the resi- 
dence of Major Fitzhugh. The proprietor was 
in the South, and for two years the fields had 



208 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



been uncultivated, and the garden and lawn suf- 
fered to grow wild with weeds, save the little 
attention given to them by a family of miserably 
poor white retainers living on a part of the 
estate. 

In two days after our arrival, if one had made 
a tour through the encampments of the First 
Corps lying nearest this mansion, he might have 
found distributed here and there, as additions 
either ornamental or useful, almost everything 
that could be carried from the forsaken house. The 
heavy panneled doors were transformed into camp 
bedsteads of the most approved style, or made to 
serve the meaner purpose of a tent floor. In one 
of our company streets, cool and airy quarters 
were constructed of its Venetian shutters ; and 
though all the glass had been broken from the 
windows, members of another company, not to be 
outdone by the inventive genius of their neigh- 
bors, carried away the empty sash, of which 
they bnilt quarters still more cool and airy. 

Scattered over the floors, and mingled with 
broken china and mahogany, were papers and 
letters doubtless of great value to the family, 
because of the many years through which they 
had been preserved. An old ledger told that in 
the beginning of the present centUry, tlie elder 
proprietor was a merchant, living in Port Royal, 
on the Rappahannock. The Fitzhughs, and the 
Lewises, and the Slaughters, and Hedgman, and 



REVELATIONS OF OLD LETTERS. 



209 



Taliferio, were among his customers; in many 
instances buying at a single purchase of shoes, 
cotton goods, and calico (supplies for their slaves) 
to the value of £50. 

A soldier, v^nth nothing else to employ his 
leisure time, gathered a bundle of these scattered 
papers and brought them into camp. It was a 
strange coincidence, that two of the letters thus 
preserved should present the old Virginia mer- 
chant in such different phases of character. One 
letter was from a clergyman, thanking him for 
his ^'thoughtful gift" of twenty pounds. The 
other was from a lady, appealing to him, as the 
executor of her deceased husband, to deal justly 
with herself and dependent children. 

Our field glasses revealed a state of things on 
the south bank of the Rappahannock very like 
to that existing on its north side. There, too, 
summer bowers could be seen, mingling their 
dark green with tents bleached to pure whiteness 
by the spring rains and the summer sun. The 
pickets were in easy speaking distance of each 
other, and for a time neither army seemed dis- 
posed to do more than lazily patrol the opposite 
shores of the river. 

Then came alarms from the rebel side. There 
were movements of artillery, and marchings of 
infantry, that awakened suspicion, and led to the 
belief that the enemy contemplated a crossing 
somewhere on the left. Between corps head- 
J8* 



210 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



quarters and the pickets, a line of couriers was 
established, and the old spirit of vigilance, suf- 
fered to sleep awhile after the battle of Chan- 
cellorville, was fully aroused. 

Tow ird the latter part of May, the camp was 
astir at midnight by a report that the enemy was 
crossing the river in large force. Wagons were 
packed and moved out to the road, and the troops 
got in readiness to form in line at a moment's 
notice. But it turned out to be a false alarm, 
thus accounted for by one from the south side: 
"l^ight before last an incident occurred which 
exhibited their [our] nervousness. A party of 
Mississippians undertook to draw a sein in the 
river near Knox's mills. The Yankees concluded 
that the Rappahannock was being crossed by the 
Confederate army, and at once the heavens were 
illuminated with their rockets — the picket lines 
were doubled, and their whole carnp gave every 
indication of fearful apprehension. Fallen Joe, 
however, was permitted to pass the night unmo- 
lested by the sein-haulers." 

These alarms, far down on the left, were a part 
of General Lee's plans. "With their resources 
well-nigh exhausted, and hard pressed to subsist 
the army in the impoverished country where it 
had passed the winter, the authorities at Rich- 
mond again and again demanded of Lee to assume 
the oiFensive. Hooker's failure was accepted as 
the dawning of the propitious hour for such an 



GENERAL HENRY BAXTER. 



211 



undertaking, and behind the hills, across the 
narrow channel, the Southern leader was mar- 
shaling his legions for the invasion of the ^^'orth. 

The strength of the First Corps was greatly 
reduced by the discharge of troops whose term 
of enlistment had expired, compelling a reorgan- 
ization of its divisions and several of its brigades. 
After the battle of Fredericksburg, General Taylor 
resigned the command of the Third Brigade, and 
retired from the service. During the Chancellor- 
ville campaign, it was under command of Colonel 
Leonard, of the Thirteenth Massachusetts. In 
the reorganizing of Robinson's Division, the 
three brigades that formerly composed it were 
consolidated into two brigades. The Thir- 
teenth Massachusetts, One-hundred-and-fourth 
ISTew York, One-hundred-and-seventh Pennsyl- 
vania, and Sixteenth Maine, formed the First 
Brigade, under command of General Paul. The 
Eleventh, Eighty-eighth, and ]!Tinetieth Penn- 
sylvania Regiments, and the Mnth and IsTinety- 
seventh 'New York Regiments, formed the Second 
Brigade, under command of Gen. Henry Baxter. 

General Baxter was at the head of the Seventh 
Michigan Regiment in its charge across the Rap- 
pahannock in pontoon boats, on the 12th of De- 
cember, driving away the rebel sharp-shooters, 
that for half a day retarded the laying of Sum- 
ner's bridges. The gallant feat won for him a 
brigadier's star. Baxter's fame had preceded 



212 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



him, and when he took charge of the brigade, 
the men were as jjroud of their new general as 
the general himself was proud of his new com- 
mand. 

The Eleventh began its march northward with 
two hundred and eighty- eight men, scarcely a 
third of the number with which it had marched 
southward a year before. Some of its numerous 
wounded had recovered and were again in their 
places; while many others, including the two 
subordinate field officers, were still absent. 

The vacancies occasioned among the line offi- 
cers, by death or resignation, were mostly filled. 
Sergeant-major Arthur F. Small was promoted 
to adjutant; and Commissary-sergeant Allen S. 
Jacobs to be quartermaster. Doctor W. F. Os- 
borne, of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, 
had been assigned to the regiment as second as- 
sistant surgeon, vice Doctor Morris resigned, be- 
fore we left Fletcher chapel. The time of service 
of the 132d Pennsylvania Regiment having ex- 
pired, Doctor Anawalt was returned to the 
Eleventh as surgeon. 

Friday, June 12. — Between five and six o'clock 
this morning, the Second Brigade of the First 
Corps moved out of camp. Three hearty cheers 
were given for General Hooker as we passed 
army headquarters. We are now bivouacked at 
Deep Run mill, on the road leading to Warren- 
ton, twenty-two miles from the point of starting. 



MARCHING NORTHWARD. 



213 



The heat of the day was oppressive ; and what 
with their knapsacks on their backs, and the 
dust settled in hair and eyebrows, the rnen looked 
like a regiment of octogenarians, instead of the 
stalwart Western boys that they are. That part 
of the road lying between Falmouth and Hart- 
wood church was passed over last spring in our 
march from Manassas to Fredericksburg. Deep 
Eun mill is a large stone building half a century 
old. The flood-gates are torn away, and the 
burrs removed, to prevent its use by the Yan- 
kees. 

Saturday, June 13. — It was nearly seven 
o'clock this morning before the column got fairly 
started; and although the rests were frequent, 
the march was full of weariness. We are halted 
for the night in a thick woods between the Rap- 
pahannock and Bealton Station, on the Orange 
and Alexandria Railroad. A large rebel force is 
reported to be concentrating on the opposite side 
of the river, and the troops are going into bivouac 
in line of battle. During last August, while the 
Eleventh was engaged at the bridge just below, 
holding the rebel advance in check, Jackson's 
forces passed to the right, and made their appear- 
ance on the plains of Manassas. Many express 
themselves to-night that the same programme is 
to be enacted ; and that the annual battle of 
Bull Run will be fought some weeks earlier. 

Monday Morning, June 15. — Three days ago 



214 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



we were eight miles below Fredericksburg, on 
the Rappahannock ; this morning the First Corps 
is encamped at Manassas. General Halleck once 
said that the great want of the Arm}^ of the Po- 
tomac was legs. He will be glad to learn that 
we have come into possession of those valuable 
appendages, and know how to use them. The 
march of yesterday, if not the longest in miles, 
was the longest in hours we have ever made. 
Leaving the woods near Bealton at nine o'clock 
A.M., Sabbath, the regiment halted this morning 
at four o'clock, marching nineteen hours, with 
only one hour's rest at Broad Run. From Beal- 
ton to Bristow the route was new to the Eleventh, 
and made up the broken link in the chain of 
marches through this part of Virginia We have 
now traversed almost every foot of its territory 
from the Potomac to the Shenandoah, east and 
west, and from Alexandria to the Rapidan, north 
and south. 

Monday Evening. — Shortly after eight o'clock 
this morning the march was resumed across Ma- 
nassas plains toward Centerville. Every spot was 
familiar, for no less than six different times have 
we encamped on this ground. Manassas never 
looked so beautiful as now, clothed in the rich 
verdure of early summer. But although the 
green grass covers 'up many a foul spot, and hides 
from view the graves, and in some instances the 
unburied bones of our companions, nothing can 



ACROSS MANASSAS PLAINS. 



215 



wipe out the memory of the terrible conflicts 
that will always be associated with this sanguinary 
battle-field. To-night we are encamped on the 
hights of Centerville. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE STRATEGY OF HOOKER AND LEE. 

"The service required of the First Corps will 
be of such a nature that all unnecessary baggage 
must be left behind," read the order of General 
Hooker the day before the corps left the Rappa- 
hannock. 

When General Lee commenced moving it 
was uncertain whether he was making for the 
Shenandoah Yalley or the Orange and Alexandria 
Railroad, by way of Thoroughfare Gap. In either 
event, the possession of Manassas and the hights 
of Centerville was of vast moment to the Fed- 
eral commander, and hence the rapid marching 
of the First Corps to those points. At the same 
time of our bivouac at Centerville, the head 
of the rebel column reached the vicinity of Win- 
chester, and from all the signal stations came the 
same report — that Lee was concentrating a large 
army in the Yalley. Still, the real object of the 



216 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Cod federate commaDder did not clearly appear, 
and then commenced that series of strategic op- 
erations between Lee and Hooker that reflected 
such credit upon the latter. 

In less than one week all the corps of the Po- 
tomac Army were massed in the region of Fair- 
fax Court House. The Blue Eidge rose between 
the two opposing generals, hiding from each 
the movements of the other. The wily Lee, who 
marched so rapidly at the first, halted his main 
column under cover of the mountain, sending 
only a part of his forces to ravage the shores of 
the Potomac. He had expected to see General 
Hooker, in his eagerness to protect the threat- 
ened border, cross his forces into Maryland, and 
leave open all the easy approaches to the national 
capital. But the brave Pleasanton, with his fear- 
less troopers, penetrated the gaps of the Blue 
Ridge, and revealed the designs of the enemy. 

While the First Corps was halted at Guilford 
Station, on the Loudon and Hampshire Eailroad, 
Pleasanton's cavalry was approaching Aldie Gap. 
The outline of the country stretching away to- 
ward the Blue Eidge was such that, occupied by 
the enemy, he could hang upon our flank and 
rear, observe all our movements, and harass us 
at every step. General Stuart made a march of 
forty miles in one day to get into this territory, 
and on the morning of June 21st, in the very 
act of passing through Aldie, encountered Pleas- 



THE GUERRILLA MOSEBY. 



217 



anton. The fight was long and severe; but the 
rebels were finally driven back, and retreated 
through Middleburg. Lee's strategy was now at 
an end; and following in the wake of Ewell's 
Corps, his whole army invaded Maryland and 
Pennsylvania. 

On the march from Centerville to Guilford 
Station, we had an instance of the daring ex- 
ploits of the guerrilla Moseby, within whose do- 
mains we then found ourselves. Two clerks, 
belonging to the brigade commissary, rode ofi 
some distance from the troops to procure a 
supply of forage for the horses. Scarcely had 
they left the road over which our wagon train 
was passing, on their way to a farm-house across 
the fields, when, in going through a narrow strip 
of woods, they fell into the hands of Moseby. 
The party, consisting of the guerrilla chief and 
a dozen men dressed in Federal uniform, were 
mistaken for a squad of our own cavalry. Re- 
lieving the clerks of the pistols they always car- 
ried in their belts, but never used, the prisoners 
were ordered to remain seated on their horses, 
and observe perfect quiet. In a little while, 
placing our boys in the center of the squad, and 
intimating what would be the result in case of 
the slightest alarm, the guerrillas boldly galloped 
out into the road, riding some distance along 
with the train, and again taking to the woods on 
the opposite flank. 

19 



218 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Excepting to disarm them, not the slightest in- 
dignities had thus far been offered, and Moseby 
seemed determined to convince his captives not 
only in words, but by actions, that he was not 
the style of person the Yankees represented him. 

"Your papers speak of us as guerrillas, and 
every murder committed between the Potomac 
and the Blue Eidge is blamed on me or some of 
my men. These charges are all false. We are 
an independent command, to be sure, but a part 
of the Confederate cavalry, and only kill when 
we cannot capture, just as your men do. It is 
my business now to get all the information I can 
of your movements, and that is what I have been 
doing to-day. We have gone all along your 
trains, and from the marks on the wagons, and 
conversation with the drivers, I know how 
many corps are moving in this direction, and 
where you will probably bivouac to-night. If 
any horses should stray away from camj), or men 
either, for that matter, they may be among the 
missing in the morning." 

Riding up to a house, partly hid in an apple 
orchard, another source from which Moseby 
derived his information was discovered. The 
farmer met him at the gate with every expres- 
sion of hearty welcome. Two Yankee soldiers 
had been there an hour before, to whom he had 
given dinner, in the hope of getting some news 
out of them. "Bat they were a stupid pair," 



PARTING WITH VIRGINIA. 



219 



said the farmer, ^^and only knew that they be- 
longed to the Eleventh Corps." 

Moseby retained his prisoners until next morn- 
ing, and then released them on parole. If he 
had not kept their horses, thus compelling the 
clerks to walk ten or twelve miles to overtake 
the brigade, so far as their experience went, the 
partisan chief might have received more credit 
for cleverness than he deserved. 

Saturday Morning, June 27. — Although or- 
ders to be ready to move were received on Wed- 
nesday, it was not until 10 o'clock Thursday that 
we broke up camp at Guilford Station. A march 
of six or eight miles brought us to Edward's 
Ferry, on the Potomac. Two o'clock we stood 
on the shores of Maryland. ISTot one single regret 
pained our hearts at parting with Virginia, and 
we shall be glad never again to set foot on her 
disloyal soil. 

While the troops were crossing, rode up the 
river to Ball's Bluif, the scene of that wicked 
blunder in which the gallant California Senator 
(Colonel Baker) and nine hundred men were sac- 
rificed to incompetency or treason. Passing 
through Poolsville, the Eleventh bivouacked at 
night near the little town of Barnesville. 

Friday morning the troops were again on the 
march, moving toward Frederick City. The 
roads were in the worst possible condition, soft 
and slippery. But there were many points of spe- 



220 



STORY OF THE EEGIMENT. 



cial interest that helped, in no snnall degree, to 
vary the weariness of the Avay. First was the 
Sugar Loaf Mountain, whose graceful peak was 
in full sight almost from the moment of leaving 
Guilford Station. It must be said, however, that 
it had a grander view in the distance than when 
we came to climb up its steep rocky sides. After 
a march of two or three miles along the bank of 
Monocacy Creek, the troops began the ascent of 
the Kittoctan Mountain. Behind us was the 
Sugar Loaf and the country through which we 
had passed. In front were the South Mountain 
range, and the gap at Harper's Ferry, where the 
waters of the Potomac and the Shenandoah meet 
and mingle into one. At our feet lay Pleasant 
Yalley, intersected by fields of ripening grain 
and green, waving corn, looking in the distance 
like a vast garden. The brigade halted last 
night outside the village of Jefferson. In com- 
pany with Chaplain Howell, of the Mnetieth, 
found lodgings in the town, where we are now 
waiting the coming of the troops. 

Saturday Evening. — It was eight o'clock this 
morning before Baxter's Brigade, in rear of the 
Division, left Jefferson. The route was up the 
valley toward Middletown. Passing through the 
village, we are now in camp in sight of Mount 
Tabor Church, at the foot of South Mountain, 
near where the Eleventh marched up to take 
part in the engagement of 14th September last. 



FIEST CORPS AT EMMETTSBURG. 



221 



Monday, June 29. — There was such a falling 
off of startling rumors yesterday, and everything 
wore an aspect so peaceful and Sabbath-like, 
that every one imagined, holding as we did all the 
passes of South Mountain, and guarding all the 
avenues leading to Baltimore and Washington, 
that the army might rest some days in Pleasant 
Yalley. But the call of the bugle dispelled the 
delusion ; and at the hour we had appointed to 
hold religious services, the Eleventh marched 
to Frederick. The distance was only com- 
pleted with the last ray of daylight; and yet so 
charming was the weather, and in such fine 
spirits were the troops, that the eight miles were 
made with scarcely more apparent fatigue than 
has often been seen in a simple change of 
camp. 

At four o'clock this morning the column was 
again in motion, moving toward Emmettsburg. 
Everywhere along the route the troops were 
greeted with demonstrations of delight. It was 
so new to us, who had always been received with 
frowns, or a look of contempt, or in sullen silence, 
to be met with smiles of welcome, that the en- 
thusiasm of the citizen was communicated to the 
soldier, and for miles a prolonged cheer rose 
from the moving ranks. Late in the afternoon, 
the First Corps entered Emmettsburg. One week 
ago, the finest half of the town was destroyed 
by fire, certainly the work of an incendiary — 
19* 



222 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



but whether a rebel spy, or a home rebel sympa- 
thizer, does not yet appear. 

Two miles from town we passed the Catholic 
College of Mount St. Mary, a large, imposing 
stone edifice, at the foot of the Blue Ridge, and 
surrounded by everything in nature to make it 
attractive. Taking advantage of a moment's 
halt, a party of three or four rode through the 
capacious gateway, and up to the main entrance 
of the building. We were cordially received by 
the president, and escorted through the several 
parts of the college. With characteristic hospi- 
tality, a collation was in preparation for us, but 
the column had moved on, and we were obliged 
to decline. Immediately in the town are the 
buildings and extensive grounds of the Sisterhood 
of St. Joseph, the headquarters of the Sisters of 
Charity in the United States. The regiment is 
now bivouacked a short distance to the west of 
Emmettsburg, on the road leading to Cashtown. 



CHAPTER I. 

HOOKER DISPLACED BY MEADE. 

While the Army of tlie Potomac was resting 
under the shadow of South Mountain, on the 
28th of June, the supreme command of its forces 
passed from General Hooker into the hands of 
General George G. Meade. 

Those were days when official jealousies and 
personal animosities — home-bred traitors — great- 
ly interfered with the efficiency of the army. 
There had never been anything but bad blood 
between Hooker and General Halleck. "If the 
general-in- chief had been in the rebel interest," 
said Hooker, " it would have been impossible for 
him to have added to the embarrassment he 
caused me, from the moment I took command 
of the Potomac Army." 

A garrison of ten thousand men had been 
placed at Harper's Ferry. There was nothing 
for them to do ; they covered no ford of the river, 
nor were they of the slightest defense to the 
Cumberland Valley. Having sent the First, 

( 223 ) 



224 



STORY OF THE EEGIMENT. 



Third, and Eleventh Corps to Middletown, on 
the flank of Lee, Hooker proposed, with the 
Twelfth Corps and the force at Harper's Ferry, 
to fall upon the rebel rear, destroy the bridges 
Lee might have laid across the Potomac, and in- 
tercept the commerce Ewell had established in 
grain, horses, and cattle, which he was sending 
into Virginia in large amounts. But Halleck 
refused to allow the withdrawal of those troops, 
and General Hooker asked to be relieved ; de- 
claring that he would rather go into the ranks 
as a soldier, than to stand at ' the head of the 
army and be thwarted at a time when it was 
necessary for every man to be used for the safety 
of the country and the destruction of the rebels. 

On the morning of June 30th, leaving our bi- 
vouac near Emmettsburg, and filing out into the 
road to Gettysburg, the First Corps crossed from 
Maryland into Pennsylvania, the Eleventh Regi- 
ment halting near the house of James Wolfred. 
Two miles from Emmettsburg, an old tree, grow- 
ing in a fence corner, was pointed out as marking 
the State line. As the three Pennsylvania regi- 
ments of the Second Brigade passed that bound- 
ary, a new class of emotions was awakened in 
every heart, that could only find expression in 
the hearty cheers there given for the good old 
State. 

The order announcing the change of com- 
mander was here read to the troops. Cut off from 



IMPRESSION UPON THE ARMY. 225 



all sources of information, the movements of the 
rebels only came to us in vague and unreliable 
rumors. J^ow the reports were more explicit. 
Lee had indeed penetrated far into the interior 
of Pennsylvania. Carlisle and York were already 
in possession of his forces, and a large body was 
marching against Harrisburg. It was a perilous 
adventure, in such a moment as that, when every 
man felt the impending crisis, to remove from 
the command one who knew so well not only 
the qualities of his own army, but the designs 
and purposes of the enemy, and supersede him 
by another who had all that to learn. 

Unaccounted for, and to them unaccountable, 
the removal of General Hooker was accepted by 
the rank and file as the expression of doubt and 
uncertainty, in the high places of government, 
as to the issue before us ; and with an army less 
patriotic or less intelligent, the effect would have 
been full of disaster. But there comes an hour, 
in the experience of every true soldier, when he 
feels that victory depends not so much upon the 
commander as on himself — on his own fidelity 
to duty. Such an hour came to the Army of the 
Potomac, and each man was nerved for the 
work before him. 

The right wing of the army, consisting of the 
First and Eleventh Corps, under command of 
General Reynolds, continued its leisurely move- 
ment toward Gettysburg. There was nothing 



226 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



in the clear blue sky of that first morning in 
July to indicate what the day would bring forth. 
If anything could suggest peaceful thoughts to 
armed men, it was the country through which 
we were passing, so like a paradise it seemed to 
the forsaken regions south of the Potomac, al- 
most every acre of which had been furrowed by 
battle, or trenched for the burial of the dead. 
With what hearty State pride each one beheld 
the lofty mountains — the broad plains — the 
flowering valleys of Pennsylvania. 'No wonder 
the Southern soldier, remembering to what he 
must return, was loathe to leave those fair fields. 

While General Reynolds was approaching the 
town. Hill's Corps, of the rebel army, was mov- 
ing in the same direction from Chambersburg, 
and Early's and Ewell's Corps from Carlisle and 
York. Buford's cavalry occupied Gettysburg 
the last day of June, and on the first of the new 
month, in a reconnoissance out on the Chambers- 
burg pike, encountered Heath's Division of the 
rebel advance. 

Robinson's Division was three miles to the rear 
when the first artillery report broke the stillness 
of the morning air, and rolled away in echoes 
among the surrounding hills. How that first 
gun — the invariable prelude to battle — always 
startles the nerves, and sends the heart on a 
double-quick motion! But as cannon answers 
to cannon, the nerves become accustomed to the 



ENEMY IN FRONT OF GETTYSBURG. 227 

■unusual sound, and the heart comes back again 
to its steady beat. 

It was not known that a considerable force of 
the enemy was in our immediate vicinity; and 
the party in front of the cavalry was regarded as 
an advance guard, sent forward to watch the 
movements of the Federal commander. Pres- 
ently long lines of infantry began to develop 
themselves, and Buford sent word that the 
enemy was in heavy force. Wadsworth's Divi- 
sion of the First Corps was in the advance, then 
came Doubleday, and last Robinson. Placing 
himself at the head of Wadsworth'^ column, 
General Reynolds pushed rapidly forward, mov- 
ing across the fields to the left of the Emmetts- 
burg road and taking position on Seminary 
Ridge, half a mile west of Gettysburg. 

There were other eyes than those of General 
Reynolds that saw the advantages of that com- 
manding ridge. Scarcely had our troops reached 
the ground, when Heath's Division, having driven 
back the cavalry, turned upon Wadsworth, and 
in desperate charges vainly endeavored to drive 
him from the ridge. In the first volley from 
the rebel line General Reynolds fell mortally 
wounded, dying in the arms of his attendants 
before he could be removed from the field. 

The tiring of the first gun in front closed up 
the straggling ranks of the rear division. Aid- 
de-camps were seen riding along the column, 



228 STORY OF THE EEGIMENT. 

delivering orders to the several commanders, 
and urging forward the troops. 

" Step out lively, men," said one. General 
Reynolds has been wounded, and every man is 
needed at the front." 

Those were troops not to be disheartened by 
disaster, and as they neared the battle-field, a 
firmer and a steadier step struck the ground. 

E'obly did the First Division maintain its lines, 
inflicting heavy loss upon the rebels, and before 
its supports came up capturing General Archer 
and his entire brigade. The death of General 
Reynolds placed General Doubleday in com- 
mand of the First Corps and General Howard 
in command of the right wing of the army. 
Strengthening Wadsworth's line with the Third 
Division, Robinson's Division was held in reserve 
behind Seminary Ridge. While the troops of 
the First Corps were thus disposed, the Eleventh 
Corps marched through the town and formed on 
the right. The outlines of the battle of Gettys- 
burg at this moment began to be seen. Hill was 
in front of the First Corps with thirty thousand 
men, and Ewell was approaching our right flank 
with thirty thousand more. 

"Tell Doubleday to fight on the left, and I 
will hold on to the right," said General Howard 
to Buford's adjutant, who rode up to tell him of 
the advance of Ewell. 

Robinson was getting into position near the 
Seminary when Doubleday observed a dangerous 



BATTLE OF FIRST OF JULY. 



229 



gap between himself and Howard. The Eleventh 
PennsylvaDia and the Mnety-seventh ISTew York 
were at once pushed forward some distance be- 
yond the railroad embankment to occupy the 
space. A little later, the rest of the Second 
Brigade was sent forward, and at last the whole 
division. 'Not a single regiment remained in re- 
serve, and from left to right the line was envel- 
oped in fire and smoke. 

The enemy was striking his heaviest blows on 
the left, and changing front, Robinson took posi- 
tion on a ridge running parallel with Seminary 
Ridge, four or five hundred yards further west. 
It was now noon, and the battle grew fiercer with 
every hour. Gallantly the rebels came against 
our front, and as gallantly were they driven 
back. 

"We are Pennsylvanians, and have come here 
to stay," was the shout that followed every re- 
pulse of the enemy. 

There seemed to be no end to those Southern 
ranks, as there w^as no exhausting the persistent 
courage with which they continued the attack. 
Quick as one line was swept away another and a 
stronger line took its place. Baxter had just 
repulsed one of the enemy's severest assaults, 
when a i^orth Carolina brigade veered round for 
a charge on our right flank. The Mnetieth Penn- 
sylvania and the Twelfth Massachusetts met the 
^Torth Carolinians with a musketry fire that 
20 



230 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



doubled up their ranks and sent them streaming 
back toward the left in defenseless confusion. It 
was our time to charge; and rushing upon those 
broken ranks with the spirit of men who had 
everything at stake, the Eleventh Pennsylvania 
and Mnety-seventh 'New York brought back 
with them four hundred prisoners, and the flag 
of the Twenty-third J^orth Carolina Regiment. 

The record of one hour on that ridge is the 
record of the three hours the troops maintained 
their position. Now repelling the fierce attacks 
of a greatly superior force in front; now chang- 
ing to the right and then again to the left ; and 
when the enemy's ranks were broken, charging 
upon him, capturing his colors and his men. 
Shot and shell were every moment lessening the 
number. But the brave fellows were fighting on 
their native soil ; thei/ had come there to stay, and 
closing up the gaps, they fought on. When the 
ammunition began to fail, wounded men, carried 
from the field, passed their cartridge-boxes to 
the front. More than one volley that shattered 
through those rebel lines was supplied from the 
unexpended powder and ball taken from the per- 
sons of dead comrades. 

Toward three o'clock the First Brigade moved 
to the front. The battle was now raging with 
greater fury than ever, and the Eleventh was 
hurried to the railroad embankment, a short dis- 
tance to the left, to support Stewart's Battery. 



BATTLE OF FIRST OF JULY. 231 

The eneni}^, coming from tlie direction of Cham- 
bersburg, was gradually extending his line on 
the left so as nearly to touch the Emmettsburg 
pike. For six hours the First Corps, numbering 
in all only eight thousand men, had contended 
with Hill's Corps, fall thirty thousand strong. 
A new danger now threatened them. The 
Eleventh Corps, that for some time gallantly 
held its own, suddenly broke, precipitating 
Ewell's Corps upon our right flank, ^feither 
courage nor valor could avail against such fearful 
odds. Overwhelmed in front, and sorely pressed 
on either flank, the Union lines gave way in de- 
feat and retreated through Gettysburg to Cem- 
etery Hill. 

Early in the day the surgeons had taken pos- 
session of the Lutheran Church, near the center 
of the town, for Division Hospital. Basement 
and auditory, chancel and choir, the yard in 
front, and the yard in rear, were soon crowded 
with the brave men of the Second Division, 
wounded and dying. We were going in and out 
among these, when the broken and flying bat- 
talions of the Eleventh Corps came streaming in 
from the right. It was a sight never to be for- 
gotten. Crowding through the streets, and up 
the alleys, and over fences in utter ignorance of 
whither they were going, every moment increased 
the confusion and dismay. To add to the terrors 
of the hour, the enemy gained possession of the 



232 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



town, and firing rapidly into our retreating ranks, 
shot and shell mingled their horrid sounds with 
the groans of the d^dng thus stricken down. 

But that retreat was not all confusion. The 
same noble corps that had so successfully main- 
tained its ground on the left, when resistance 
was no longer possible, fell back in solid phalanx. 
And though 

" Cannon to right of them, 
Cannon to left of them, 

Volley'd and thunder'd," 

shoulder to shoulder they marched, rank after 
rank halting to fire upon the advancing foe, and 
then closing up again wuth daring coolness. 

In marching through Gettysburg to his posi- 
tion on the right, General Howard placed Stein- 
wehr's Division of the Eleventh Corps in reserve 
on Cemetery Hill. Twenty-four guns in position, 
with a strong infantry support, was not only a 
grateful covering for our retreating forces, behind 
which they could reform their broken lines, but 
also arrested the further pursuit of the victo- 
rious Southerner, and saved the Federal army 
from utter ruin. 



REBELS QUARTERED AT GETTYSBURG. 233 



CHAPTER 11. 

ARMIES CONCENTRATED AT GETTYSBURG. 

Defeated on our own soil, and held in tlie 
town a prisoner, never did the cloud that hung- 
over the nation seem so dark and threatening as 
at the close of that first day of July. 

G-enerals Longstreet,Ewell, and Hill were quar- 
tered in the village, indicating that the entire 
rebel force was concentrated at Gettysburg. But 
there was no one to tell us of the Union army, 
whether its other corps were near enough to 
come to the support of the First and the Eleventh 
holding Cemetery Hill. Baltimore and Wash- 
ington were within two days' march ; and for 
anything that we could learn, there was nothing 
to prevent the entire accomplishment of the bold 
plan of invasion marked out by the Southern 
leader. 

Elated with the success of the first day, the 
enemy in town passed the night in riot and feast- 
ing. But with the morning of the 2d of July, 
that dawned as brightly as though no disaster 
had befallen the cause of Liberty and Humanity, 
— came preparations for renewing the conflict. 
Two lines of battle were formed in the streets, 
20* 



234 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



and a force of pioneers removed all the fences 
and whatever else obstructed an easy access from 
one side of the town to the other. If we could 
have known that throughout the night one 
corps after another had been arriving until the 
line of the Federal army stretched from Round 
Top on the left to Gulp's Hill on the right, we 
would have accepted that bright morning as the 
•harbinger of linal success. 

General Meade was laying out a battle line 
along the banks of Pipe Creek, ten miles nearer 
to Baltimore, where he intended to concentrate 
his army and await the approach of General Lee. 
But the first gun fired in front of Gettysburg de- 
cided the battle-field. The Third and Twelfth 
Corps arrived on the evening of July 1st ; the 
Second and Fifth between midnight and day- 
light of July 2d, and the Sixth Corps, after a 
march of thirty miles, between ten o'clock and 
noon. 

" Your troops occupy a strong position at the 
upper end of the town, on the road leading to 
Baltimore," said a Confederate captain, who 
came into the hospital. "But I'm sure they 
won't be there long." 

'No word that a single man had been added to 
the brave few that bore the brunt of yesterday's 
fight, came to our ears; and when the bat- 
tle commenced, shortly after noon of Thursday, 
it need not be concealed that there were painful 



BATTLE OF SECOND OE JULY. 



235 



fears of the issue. Hour after hour passed slowly 
away without a moment's lull in the roar of ar- 
tillery and the rattle of small arms. E'ot until 
the darkness of night closed in between the two 
armies did the noise of battle cease. 

The fiercest fighting was on the rebel right, in 
the vicinity of Round Top. Heavy columns of 
Confederate troops were seen moving rapidly in 
that direction, and long lines of ambulances had 
been passing to and from their hospitals all after- 
noon. The surgeons of the Eleventh, as indeed 
nearly every surgeon belonging to the Second 
Division, with all the medical stores, fell into the 
hands of the rebels when they occupied the town. 
We could not but think of our wounded, thus 
unprovided for. But the army, — did it hold its 
position throughout the fight, or were its ranks 
broken and scattered, was the thought that en- 
grossed every other. 

Later in the evening we inquired of an officer 
gathering up the stragglers that were hanging 
about the hospital, how the battle had gone. He 
was not at all inclined to be communicative, and 
only in answer to a direct question did he say 
that we still held our lines unbroken. 

There was a faint dawning of hope. We knew 
that nothing less than the entire Potomac Army 
could resist such an attack as had been made 
during the day by the combined Southern forces. 
And though the contest was still in doubt, it was 



236 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



encouraging to think that onr men were not con- 
tending against the fearful odds of the first day's 
battle. 

Daylight of Friday, July 3d, the fighting that 
had ceased with the darkness of the night before, 
was renewed on the right of the line. During 
the previous evening, while the enemy was 
making his attack near Round Top, and the 
right had been weakened to strengthen the left, 
Early's forces broke through the lines, and took 
possession of a part of our defenses. 

The Federal battle-line in its shape resembled 
a horseshoe. It was the inner circle, of which 
the rebel line was the outer circle, giving to 
General Meade immensely the advantage of 
position, in the facility with which reinforce- 
ments could be sent from one part of the field 
to the other. The threatened and broken right 
was now reinforced, and after a stubborn resist- 
ance, maintained from dawn until eight o'clock, 
the rebel troops, that shouted aloud over the suc- 
cess of Thursday night, with scarcely more than 
half their number left, fell back to their original 
line. 

Then the firing ceased, and for hours there 
was an ominous quiet. It was not the quiet of 
inaction, but like that which precedes the storm. 
It was beyond human endurance that such fight- 
ing as had characterized the last two days could 
continue longer. And there was a changing of 



BATTLE OF THIED OE JULY. 



237 



troops and a moving of artillery that indicated 
preparations for the final assault. 

The enemy was boastful as ever. Our taci- 
turn friend of the day before, accompanied by 
one or two others, came again into the hospital. 
They had been making observations from the 
church steeple, and the prospect of success made 
him more talkative. 

"Everything," said he, "is going just as we 
wanted it. Longstreet has succeeded in reaching 
a position for which he was manoeuvring all yes- 
terday." 

It was one o'clock before the silence that had 
lasted from the forenoon was in the least dis- 
turbed; and then it seemed as though ten thou- 
sand furies were let loose at once. Shells of all 
sizes and shapes went howling over the town 
like demons escaped from perdition, tainting the 
very air with sulphurous smoke and smell. 

On the right and on the left, the enemy had 
vainly endeavored to pierce our lines. This at- 
tack in the center — a point upon which he had 
concentrated one hundred and fifty guns — was 
the last and most furious of all. 

"If we cannot drive them from that hill we are 
gone," said a rebel officer. 

From the spire of our church hospital we 
watched those rebel lines moving from the direc- 
tion of Seminary Ridge to the attack of Ceme- 
tery Hill. In splendid order did they come, 



238 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



three columns deep, with every flag unfurled and 
flying in the breeze. For some minutes not a 
shot had been fired from the Cemetery, and the 
daring Southerners, counting largely on the 
effects of the terrific cannonade, marched with 
quick step across the several intervening fields. 
As they advanced nearer our lines, the pro- 
longed shout was heard — so dififerent from our 
own distinct cheer — that ever presaged a rebel 
charge. But a sheet of flame ran along Ceme- 
tery Hill, and everything was hid from sight by 
dust and smoke. 

It was a fearful afternoon. The wounded men 
lying in the yard, and able to help themselves, 
crawled into the house. It seemed safer there, 
because less distinctly did the unearthly sounds 
that filled the air strike upon the ear. The rebel 
troops in line of battle in the streets, crouched 
closer to the earth, and for six hours we waited 
as men might be supposed to wait the striking 
of the knell of time. 

Toward evening, when the fury of the battle 
had spent itself, there was evident uneasiness 
among the Confederates. 'No shouts of victory 
ran along their lines; there were no congratula- 
tions among ofiicers and men, so natural if suc- 
cess had crowned their efforts. 

Details of men were employed in loading into 
wagons the spoils of the first day's fight. The 
few of their wounded brought into the Second 



DAWN OF JULY FOURTH. 



239 



Division Hospital were quietly removed, and by 
nightfall, scarcely a Southerner was to be seen, 
not even the paroling officer, who for two days 
had been busy taking the name and rank of 
each prisoner. 

There was a complacent smile on the face of 
every Federal soldier; and when one ventured 
the belief that Lee was preparing to fall back, a 
brave Michigan volunteer, whose right arm had 
been amputated near the shoulder, held up the 
other, as he said : 

This is all I have now, doctor, but for a vic- 
tory here, I would give this one, too!" 

The signs of uneasiness so apparent early in 
the evening, increased with each hour of the 
night. Intense interest in the passing events 
drove away every feeling of weariness; and from 
a window that overlooked the street there were 
anxious witnesses of all that occurred. 'Now sl 
passing wagon train, now a squadron of cavalry, 
and again the steady tramp of infantry, arrested 
the attention. 'Nor did we fail to observe that 
all these were moving in the same direction — not 
toioard our lines but from them. 

A little after the dawn of July 4th, a small 
party of Confederate cavalry rode rapidly through 
the street, hurrying up, in an excited manner, 
some lagging footmen. Scarcely had they passed 
when the sharp report of a rifle was heard, fol- 
lowed by another and another in quick succes- 



240 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



sion. Looking in the direction from whence the 
firing canie, a good strong line of Federal skirm- 
ishers was seen advancing holdly through the 
street. 

One clear, shrill cheer was given, which, quick 
as thought, was repeated by a hundred voices. 
Instantly houses that had been closed for three 
days and looked deserted, were thrown open, 
and doors and windows crowded with faces beam- 
ing with hope and joy. Many of the wounded 
in hospital crawled to the doors as best they 
could, and though in some instances only in fee- 
ble strains, welcomed the morning with shouts 
of victory. 



CHAPTER III. 

GETTYSBURG UNDER REBEL RULE. 



During the three days that the rebels held pos- 
session of Gettysburg, for representatives of South- 
ern chivalry they displayed the grossest ruffian- 
ism. Stores were broken open and pillaged of 
their contents, and private cellars robbed to re- 
plenish their knapsacks. They came into the 
hospital, taking from the wounded men shoes or 
caps, or whatever article of clothing suited their 



A RAMPANT QUARTERMASTER. 241 



fancy. Two soldiers fought over a sword taken 
from the side of a captain too badly wounded to 
offer resistance, and the dispute was only settled 
by the interference of *an officer who, happening 
in at the moment, appropriated the coveted wea- 
pon to his own use. 

The quartermaster of an Alabama brigade 
made himself especially conspicuous on the 
streets for loud talking and boisterous threats of 
firing the town, and making of Gettysburg a 
second Fredericksburg. On the night of the 3d 
of July, he invited himself to lodge in the house 
of one of the citizens. True to the instincts of 
genuine Pennsylvania hospitality, in the general 
rejoicings of the following morning, the host did 
not forget his guest. Two armed Union soldiers 
were shown into his room, and a few minutes 
after, the quartermaster was seen on an involun- 
tary march up street, with a captor on either 
flank. 

It had often been a question with those of us 
who had never seen them put to the test, whether 
the women of the iSTorth were as earnest sympa- 
thizers in the triumph of their cause as those we 
had met in the South. At Culpeper, and "War- 
renton, and Fredericksburg, the devoted atten- 
tion of the Southern women to their sick and 
wounded was marked and apparent. It was 
something more than the natural expression of 
kindness that everywhere dwells in woman's 
21 



242 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



heart; and seemed to us to come from sympathy 
for the cause, as well as for the sufferers in that 
cause. 

But nothing we had ever seen could exceed 
the devoted attention of a few noble women of 
Gettysburg. From that first dreadful day to the 
last, they were angels of mercy, always coming 
at the auspicious moment; braving alike the 
bullets that were flying through the streets, and 
the shells that were bursting overhead, and the 
leering look and coarse remark of an exultant 
foe, to carry comfort and succor to the wounded 
and the dying. 

Fears were entertained that the rebels might 
turn their guns against the town, and at an early 
hour on the morning of July 4th, all the wounded 
were removed three miles to the rear on the 
Baltimore pike, where general hospitals, well 
provided with medical stores and rations — such 
as the men greatly needed — had been estab- 
lished. 

Leaving the wounded comfortable in their 
new quarters, we went in search of the regi- 
ment, from which we had been separated since 
the morning of J uly 1st. The army was in the 
same position it had maintained during the last 
two days. Robinson's Division was to the left 
of Cemetery Hill, the Eleventh connecting with 
Hays's Division of the Second Corps. 

When the Eleventh Regiment entered the 



FIEST CORPS ON CEMETERY HILL. 243 



battle of the first day, on Seminary Ridge, there 
were present two hundred and twelve officers 
and men. By the time it reached Cemetery Hill 
it numbered only seventy-nine. In the last hour 
of the first day's fight. General Paul, of the First 
Brigade, was severely wounded, as were also 
Colonel Leonard, of the Thirteenth Massachu- 
setts, and Colonel Boot, of the Mnety-fourth 
'New York, who successively succeeded General 
Paul in command. The Eleventh Begiment was 
then transferred from the Second Brigade to the 
First Brigade, and Colonel Coulter placed in 
command. 

Taking position on Cemetery Hill, on the 
evening of July 1st, the three Divisions of the 
First Corps were arranged with "Wadsworth on 
the right center, Bobinson on the left center, 
facing toward the Emmettsburg road, and Dou- 
bleday in rear of Bobinson. The First Corps 
was under command of General I^ewton, Cap- 
tain of Engineers in the three months' campaign, 
and under whose guidance the army of General 
Patterson, with a vanguard from theT]leventh 
Begiment, made its first crossing of the Potomac. 

Longstreet's attack, in the vicinity of Bound 
Top, was on the afternoon of July 2d. The 
lines of the gallant Third Corps, that bravely 
met the furious assault, first bending beneath the 
heavy pressure thrown against them, at last 
broke, and were driven in. Then a part of the 



244 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Second Corps, sent to the help of the Third, was 
also compelled to fall back. Generals Hancock, 
of the Second, and Sickles, of the Third Corps, 
were both wounded and carried from the field. 
General ITewton ordered the Second and Third 
Divisions of the First Corps into the gap. The 
Third Division, taking the lead, were ordered to 
charge the rebels still coming on, and threaten- 
ing to turn our left flank. A moment later the 
order was countermanded. But it was too late. 
The cheers had been given, and the ranks were 
flying across the field. The four guns lost by 
Hancock were recaptured, besides two other 
guns and a large number of prisoners taken 
from the enemy. 

"When my men returned," said Donbleday, 
" they apologized to me for not halting at the 
command, and I accepted the apology." 

Friday morning, Robinson's Division was 
massed in rear of Cemetery Hill, ready to push 
forward to the support of the Twelfth Corps, then 
engaged with the enemy near Culp's Hill, — 
the same enemy encountered the previous night 
by Wadsworth's Division and the single brigade 
of General Green, of the Twelfth Corps. 

The troops that were seen from the church 
spire, on the afternoon of July 3d, moving up in 
such splendid order to the attack of Cemetery 
Hill, were the Divisions of Pickett, Wilcox, and 
Pettigrew. 



PICKETT'S REBEL CHARGE. 



245 



^'I anticipate an attack on the Cemetery from 
tlie enemy's forces massed in the town," said 
General Meade to Eobinson. "Place your 
troops so that if our line gives way you can 
strike the enemy on the flank." 

The division moved out at the moment that 
the rebels turned one hundred and fifty guns 
upon our position, "l^ever were troops exposed 
to such a fire of shot and shell," said Greneral 
Eobinson, ''and yet the movement was made in 
perfect order, and with little loss." 

For some minutes our guns had remained 
quiet, the cannoneers laying close to the ground, 
watching the steady approach of the enemy, and 
awaiting the word to send their double charge 
of grape and canister into those compact col- 
umns. At last it came ; and the quick discharges 
from Captain Eicketts's Battery, and the guns 
of the Eleventh Corps, tearing great rents in 
Pettigrew's ranks, sent them back a broken and 
disorganized mass. Wilcox fared no better. 
But Pickett's Division, living through all the 
terrible storm, was moving onward with furious 
threatening against our left. 

Eobinson' s Division, ordered to the threat- 
ened point, moved over ground plowed in every 
square inch by exploding shells, and taking po- 
sition on the right of the Second Corps, the 
First Brigade met the shock of Pickett's won- 
21* 



246 STOEY OF THE EEGIMENT. 



derful charge, and shared in the last repulse of 
the sanguine Southerner. 

Ten of the Eleventh Regiment were counted 
among the dead that lay on Seminary Ridge and 
in front of Cemetery Hill. Sixty were seriously 
wounded, and sixty taken prisoners. On the 
evacuation of the town hy the rebels many of 
the latter returned to the regiment; while others, 
carried to Richmond, lingered days and weeks 
in Libby prison and on Belle Island, to die at 
last of disease or starvation. 

In every former battle there were to be found 
those always ready to evade duty; men who 
seemed to have a greater fondness for the wagon 
train or the hospital than a place in the ranks. 
But there were no stragglers at Gettysburg. ^'I^o 
soldiers ever fought better, or inflicted severer 
blows upon the enemy."* "i^ot a single case of 
faltering came to my notice, "f 

As illustrating the spirit that ruled the hour, 
was a private in Co. K, who had been with the 
Eleventh ever since its organization. Mentally 
defective to a slight degree, Lacock was never 
intrusted with a gun; but strong as an ox, he 
was placed among the pioneers, and armed with 
a spade. Catching the enthusiasm of the men 
around him, with his spade on his shoulder, John 



Gen. Robinson's Report, 
f Col. Coulter's Report. 



A BOLD PIONEER. 



247 



bravely marched with the regiment, not only in 
the thickest of the first day's fight, but during 
the second and the third day. Passing un- 
harmed through all, it deserves to be told that 
the sturdy fellow held fast to his spade. 

In Pickett's charge, two of his three brigade 
commanders were killed, and the other seriously 
wounded. Fourteen field ofiS.cers were killed, 
and only one out of the whole number escaped 
unhurt. Two-thirds of his men were killed, 
wounded, and captured, and of the thirteen 
standards that his regiments carried on that 
afternoon, only two did not fall into our hands. 



CHAPTEK lY. 

THE EETREAT AND THE PURSUIT. 

Emmbttsburg, July 6. — Yesterday morning 
the pickets sent in word that the rifle-pits and 
breast-works in front had been abandoned during 
the night, and that the rebels were in full re- 
treat. The entire army was at once put in mo- 
tion. We are bivouacked on Wolfred's farm, 
near our resting-place of last Tuesday, thus far 
on the way in pursuit of the running foe. l^Tever 



248 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



has this army come out of a battle iu such high 
spirits. Every man is enthusiastic at the hope 
of overtaking Lee before he crosses the Poto- 
mac, and at once and forever finishing up the 
rebellion. The Eleventh is under command of 
Captain Bierer, of Co. C, the colonel having 
been left behind wounded. 

Our friends of the Mnety-seventh ^^'ew York 
have just received Colonel Wheelock with three 
uproarious cheers. The colonel was taken pris- 
oner during the first day's fight, but escaped 
from his captors night before last. He reports 
great demoralization throughout the enemy's 
ranks, and the road strewed with his wounded 
and stragglers. Our cavalry is following close 
in the rear. Couch and the Pennsylvania militia 
are on the right flank, cutting off almost every 
possible chance of Lee's escape. 

Foot or South Mountain, July 8. — Four 
o'clock on the morning of the 7th, we left our 
bivouac at Emmettsburg, marching briskly along 
the Frederick pike. Crossing Kittoctan Mount- 
ain some time in the afternoon, we turned off 
the smooth pike into a narrow country road that 
brought us to another, and, as we thought, the 
steepest part of the same range of hills. General 
Robinson halted the division on the mountain 
summit, and after half an hour's rest, massed 
the several regiments and read to them the dis- 
patches from Washington, announcing the sur- 
render of Yicksburg to Gen. Grant. 



BULLETINS OF VICTORY. 



249 



" Soldiers, the news of your glorious victory at 
Gettysburg lias been telegraphed to the West. I 
propose three cheers for Grant and his army, feel- 
ing assured that while we shout their victories 
from this mountain top, they are shouting our 
victory along the Mississippi Yalley." 

Three o'clock this morning we were again under 
march, and are once more bivouacked at the foot 
of South Mountain, in sight of Mount Tabor 
church. 

July 9. — Late last evening, with not more than 
an hour's rest after a long and severe march, Ro- 
binson's Division was ordered to cross South 
Mountain, and take position to the right of Turn- 
er's Gap. General French has destroyed the 
enemy's pontoon bridge at Williamsport, and it 
was thought Lee might make a desperate effort 
to secure this pass in order to protect his flank. 
In this position, a short distance below the old 
Mountain House, we have been resting all day, 
while one continuous stream of artillery , infantry, 
and cavalry has been passing along the ITational 
pike, in the direction of Hagerstown. Everything 
reminds one of last September. Over this same 
mountain, and along this same road, and with 
much of the same spirit, we were then, as now, 
in close pursuit of the rebels. Let us hope for 
a more decisive issue. 

Benevolo, July 10. — The division left South 
Mountain at six o'clock this morning. "Wonder- 



250 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



fal indeed are the recuperative powers of the 
soldier. Footsore and tired, when the hour for 
bivouac comes, if the sky should be overcast, 
and rain threaten, he may take time to pitch his 
shelter tent ; but more frequently, with only a 
blanket wrapped around him, he stretches him- 
self on the ground, to sleep soundly and well. 

"Weariness 
Can snore upon the flint, where resty sloth 
Finds downy pillows hard." 

IText morning the fatigue of the former day 
is forgotten, and with spring and elasticity in his 
step, he takes his place in the ranks, ready to 
move forward at the word of command. So the 
few hours of rest enjoyed by our boys yester- 
day imparted renewed vigor, and when they 
started off this morning it was on a quick and 
steady march. We passed through Boonsborough 
and on toward Hagerstown, following after the 
rebels, with whom we have been skirmishing all 
day. 

Three or four houses and a small, neat church 
make up this little town of Benevolo. Our troops 
are in line of battle about half a mile to the front, 
in expectation of an engagement. 

We had hard work to save our church from 
destruction the other day,'' said a gentleman 
living on the adjacent lot. "A party of rebels 
determined to tear out the upper corner for the 



SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN VANDALS. 251 

sake of the money tliey were told tliat we always 
place under the corner-stone of our churches. I 
suppose they would have persevered in their at- 
tempt had not our cavalry come up so near be- 
hind them." 

All the vandals are not found in the ranks of 
the Southern army. After the battle of Cedar 
Mountain a party of Irish soldiers visited a beau- 
tiful frame church, that graced the north slope of 
the hill, and forced out the corner-stone, not for 
the money beneath it, but for the bottle of whis- 
key which they avowed was always sealed up in 
the corner-stone of churches. 

FuNKSTbwN, July 12. — Early this morning, the 
enemy disappearing from our front near Bene- 
volo, the whole of the forces moved forward. 
Every day we have been coming nearer to the 
main body of the rebel army. Lee is now in line 
of battle across Antietam Creek, with his left 
resting on Hagerstown, and his right extending 
to Downiesville. The different corps of the army 
are coming up in quick succession, and going into 
position. The First and Sixth Corps are on the 
right, the Fifth and Third Corps in the center, 
and the Second and Twelfth Corps on the left. 
Buford reports that the enemy has a strong posi- 
tion, which he is fortifying and rendering stronger. 
Our troops are in excellent spirits. The hard 
rains of the two or three days past have swollen 
the Potomac almost to flood-hight, and with 



252 



STORY OF THE KEGIMENT. 



his bridges destroyed, there is every prospect 
that the most of Lee's army will fall into our 
hands. 

The citizens of this village are not a little 
alarmed that the two hostile armies should have 
met so near their doors^ while they look on with 
wonder at preparations making here in the rear 
for the battle in the front. The three churches 
of the place are fitted up for hospitals. Medical 
wagons are unpacked, and the amputating tables 
set up, and as our battle line is in easy sight on 
the other side of Antietam Creek, ambulances to 
bring off the wounded are all in readiness to 
proceed to the field on the discharge of the first 



When we came to count noses, after leaving 
Gettysburg, Dixie, one of our colored servants, 
was missing. He is a boy about sixteen years 
old, the former slave of a doctor living in Fau- 
quier County, Ya., but always regarded at head- 
quarters as the personal property of the chaplain. 
Dixie was last seen on Seminary Ridge a mo- 
ment before the troops fell back, and no one could 
tell what became of him. He was given up for 
lost, when but a little while ago he walked into 
the hospital, attired in a full suit of rebel gray, 
even to the cap. It is a wonder that some of 
the provost guards did not arrest him as a gen- 
uine "Johnnie," for he looks quite as white as 
many we have taken from their ranks, except- 



gun. 




THE LOST FOUND. 



253 



ing, perhaps, that his hair is a little more inclined 
to curl. 

This is his story. Lost in the confusion of 
the first day's fight, Dixie found himself among 
the rebels. ^'Dey war all too busy a-fightin' to 
mind a darkie. So I slid down into a deep gull}^ 
washed out on de side of a hill by de rain, and 
laid quiet till it was nearly dark. Den I come 
out and looked around. Heaps ob dead war 
lyin' dar on de ground, and so many ob de 
wounded was cryin' for water. I ^spected if de 
rebels catch me wid dem blue clothes on dey would 
take me back to Yirginny. I seed a dead man 
jist t'other side ob me wid dese clothes on. I 
took dem off de man and slipped into 'em; den 
I went back to my hidin' place, and lay till 
mornin'. Arter awhile, a company came out to 
gadder up de wounded and bury de dead. Dey 
hollered at me : 

"'Hallo, darkie, where do you belong?' 

"I told dem I b'long to an ofiicer in de Second 
Yirginny, and had lost my reg'ment. Byme-by 
de firin' commenced agin, and I went back and 
laid low in de hole." 

Knowing the keenness of Dixie's appetite from 
an experience running through many months, we 
interrupted him in his story to inquire where he 
got his rations. 

"Dar was plenty ob habersacks laying about 
full ob hard tack, and I helped myself." 

22 



254 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



" How did you know wlien to come away from 
there?" 

I kept near de party dat was buryin' de dead. 
One evening a captain came an' told 'em to 
go to dar reg'ment — dat de troops was gwine 
to leave Gettysburg. I went a little way wid 
'em, until I seed a chance to go to one side, and 
get back to my hole in de ground. Kext mornin' 
eberybody was gone. Presently some ob our 
own men come out dar, and tell me which way 
de corps was marchin'. I'se been gainin' a little 
on it ebery day since." 

^Tear Williamsport, July 14. — After all our 
marching and planning, the rebels have eluded 
us. With his army little better than a mob, 
General Lee has succeeded in making a safe pas- 
sage of the Potomac. Where his capture was 
regarded with so much certainty, there could not 
be anything else than great disappointment at 
this unexpected result. Citizens along the route 
to this place tell us that if an attack had been 
made yesterday thousands of rebels would have 
fallen into our hands, as the troops then on this 
side of the river were entirely without artillery, 
and with but little ammunition. Another of those 
mistakes has been made so fatal to the permanent 
success of the Potomac Army. E'ever were men 
more eager to be led forward, and never did an 
opportunity, to all appearances, so favorable for 
utterly routing Lee present itself. If to that 



REBEL ARMY ACROSS THE POTOMAC. 255 

council of war, said to have been held night be- 
fore last, where all the generals present, except- 
ing Wads worth (representing the First Corps in 
the temporary absence of General JSTewton) and 
Howard, voted against an attack. General Meade 
had invited representatives from the rank and 
file of his army, a different result would have 
been reached. ISTothing now remains but to fol- 
low the enemy through Virginia, where the ad- 
vantage of roads, position, and everything else 
will be in his favor. 



CHAPTER v. 

MARCHING THROUGH LOUDON VALLEY. 

The halt of the army at Williamsport, after it 
was definitely ascertained that Lee had crossed 
the river and was pushing toward Martinsburg, 
was only a few hours. 

The Federal commander was much in the same 
position that McClellan found himself after the 
battle of Antietam. The question of pursuing 
the enemy through the valley of Virginia was 
then thoroughly discussed; and because of the 
difficulty of supplying an army with only a single 
track railroad from Harper's Ferry to Winches- 



256 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



ter, it was pronounced impracticable. General 
Meade therefore determined to adopt the plan of 
the previous year, which was to move upon the 
enemy's flank through Loudon Yalley. Pontoon 
bridges were ordered to be thrown across the 
Potomac at Berlin, and on the morning of July 
15th the entire army was moving toward that 
point. 

Crampton's G-ap, July 15. — Crampton's Gap 
is the most southerly pass of the South Mount- 
ain. Here we are encamped for the night, after 
a march from Williamsport of twenty miles. 
Leaving the column still moving onward, and 
riding off to the right of Keedysville, we paid a 
visit to walnut grove, our camping ground of last 
fall, and to the house of Mr. Rowe. There were 
mutual congratulations over the victory of Get- 
tysburg, and mutual regrets that Lee should have 
escaped. A large force of the enemy marched 
down the river and crossed at Shephardstown. 
They gave a pitiable account of the condition of 
the rebel army; and in such haste were they to 
have the Potomac between themselves and the 
Yankees, that they did not even stop to plunder 
— a thing they dearly love to do, and in which 
they are completely versed. 

On our way back to the regiment we passed 
over the right of Antietam battle-field. Prolific 
nature and industrious man have greatly changed 
the face of the ground during the past few 



OVER THE BATTLE-FIELD OF ANTIETAM. 257 

months. Tall grass waves over spots once worn 
bare by the friction of cannon wheels, or the 
tread of shifting infantry. The broken fences 
have been set np in the old lines; while the 
Dunkard church — around whose doors was the 
fiercest fighting between Hooker's Corps and 
Stonewall Jackson, and whose walls were pierced 
with many shells — still bearing the scars of battle 
upon it, has been refitted, and resounds again 
with prayer and praise. 

During the fiercest fighting of September 17th, 
near this spot, a soldier, mortally wounded, was 
carried by his companions. They laid him at 
the foot of a tree, and were vainly endeavoring 
to stop the blood flowing from a gaping wound. 

"It's all of no use," said he. "I am dying." 
With some effort he drew from his pocket a Bible, 
and handing it to the nearest friend, said: Give 
this to my wife. Tell her that I died trusting in 
Christ as my Saviour; and that this book has 
been to me a comfort and solace in all the trials 
of soldier-life. To my children I send a father's 
last blessing." Still addressing his friend, he 
added, " i^ow pray with me." And there, on 
the battle-field, amid bursting shell and flying 
shot, those men knelt down, and commended 
their companion to the care of God. Afterward 
he said, " Sing." There was a moment's pause, 
as though one was waiting for the other, when 
the dying man commenced, faintly — 
22* 



258 



STORY OP THE REGIMENT. 



"Jesus, lover of my soul, 
Let me to thy bosom fly." 

But before the verse was ended the pulse had 
ceased to beat, and the tongue of the shiger was 
silent in death. Did the victorious general, fall- 
ing at the head of his charging column, die more 
heroically than this nameless and unknown sol- 
dier ? 'No, not unknown ! To-night he marches 
the streets of the IsTew Jerusalem, the loved 
companion of its blessed inhabitants. 

A sad fatality has attended the Hoffman fam- 
ily, whose house was occupied as brigade hospi- 
tal during the battle. Keturning to their home 
after the last of the wounded were removed, in 
•a few days a malignant fever carried off' one and 
another, until of father, mother, two daughters, 
and an equal number of sons, not one remains. 

Waterford, Ya., July 18. — For the third time 
we crossed the Potomac, and are again in Vir- 
ginia. The pontoon bridges were laid at Berlin 
last night, and the crossing commenced early 
this morning. There is no enthusiasm among 
the men; nor will they be persuaded that we 
shall be more successful in the pursuit of Lee 
south of the Potomac than we were north of it. 

The district surrounding Waterford is the most 
loyal of Virginia. Captain Steel's Eangers, a 
body of troops that often measure arms with 
Moseby's guerrillas, are from this neighborhood. 
The gallant captain and a part of his men arrived 



AN UNAMIABLE LADY. 



259 



in town to-night, to the evident gratification of 
the citizens. 

Hamilton, July 19. — We marched eight miles 
to-day from Waterford to Hamilton. There is 
an air of quiet repose about these little towns, 
nestled in this verdant valley, quite refreshing. 
Why a town should be built just in the particu- 
lar locality you find it, would be hard to tell. 
But the suddenness with which you come upon 
them, and the unexpected places in which they 
are to be found, adds all the more to their beauty 
and attractiveness. Another thing is also to be 
observed — that every mile we make southward 
marks a change in the sentiments of the people. 
Loyalty to the Government increases as you 
move toward the Potomac, and decreases as you 
recede from it. The hospital steward of the 
Mnetieth 'New York asked permission of the 
lady of a house, near where we halted, to bring 
into her room, until the ambulances came up, a 
sick man, who gave out on the march. 

" ITo," was the curt reply. " Sick or well, no 
Yankee shall come into my house with my con- 
sent." 

The sick man was taken in and made comfort- 
able, without the consent of the amiable madam. 

MiDDLEBURG, July 20. — As early as four o'clock 
this A. M. the Eleventh Regiment, leading the 
First Corps, was moving in the direction of Mid- 
dleburg, sixteen miles distant from Hamilton. 



260 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



The march was drawn out until late in the after- 
noon. 

One thing that has greatly relieved our journeys 
through this part of Virginia, is the abundance 
of good water. Loudon Valley is the great 
highway to the ocean for all the streams rising 
in the Blue Eidge. Clear running water met us 
all day long at every step, and in one instance 
offered no little impediment to our progress. 

A large stream, that flows into the Potomac, 
under the domestic name of Groose Creek, where 
the main road to Middleburg crosses it was once 
spanned by a substantial stone bridge. But our 
friends from Richmond, after they themselves 
had made a safe passage, turned round and de- 
stroyed it. IN'othing was left for us but to ford 
Groose Creek, as we had more than once forded 
other creeks. With the water three and a half 
feet deep, the crossing was not made without the 
occurrence of many ludicrous scenes. Some of 
the men were content to remove only shoes and 
stockings; others doffed coat and breeches; while 
many more, discarding every particle of Uncle 
Sam's uniform, excepting the cap, undertook the 
transit in the uniform provided by nature. One 
missed his footing and became an involuntary 
immersionist. Another let fall the bundle of 
clothes he seemed most anxious to keep dry; or, 
stepping into a treacherous hole, for a moment 
man and bundle both disappeared. Escaping all 



THE FORDING OF GOOSE CREEK. 261 



the perils by water, the first step up the slippery 
bank was often a false step, letting down the too 
confident soldier into a bed of soft mud, or slid- 
ing him back into the stream. All these mis- 
haps were signals for expressions more witty 
than polite; and for bursts of laughter more 
vociferous than musical. 

Our present encampment is in sight of the 
handsome town of Middleburg. The citizens of 
the place showed their utter contempt for us 
by retiring to their houses and closing every 
door and window. 'Not a white person was to be 
seen, and but for the negroes that met us on the 
street corners, we might have thought the town 
uninhabited. 

Another reason for the unusual quiet of Mid- 
dleburg has just been discovered. Between one 
and two hundred rebel wounded from the field 
of Gettysburg are quartered in the town, and it 
was very desirable that they should remain un- 
discovered by the prying and curious Yankees. 
Liberal supplies of stores, stolen from Maryland 
and Pennsylvania, were also left for their sub- 
sistence. General I^ewton has very properly 
ordered this supply to be considerably lessened. 
It may be gratifying to some loyal Pennsylvania 
farmer to know that a part of his smoked hams, 
recaptured from the rebels, is now filling the 
haversacks of Pennsylvania soldiers. 

July 23. — Just as we had ceased to wonder at 



262 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



our long delay in one place in the pursuit of Lee, 
the bugle sounded the assembly, and at seven 
o'clock yesterday evening the march v^as re- 
sumed, Robinson's Division in rear of the corps, 
and the Eleventh in rear of the division. We 
had not proceeded more than a mile or two be- 
fore it was known that guerrillas were following 
after our wagon train, and fears were entertained 
of an attack. The regiment halted along the 
road-side until the wagons passed, when we fell 
in behind them, thus marching until daylight 
this morning. After a rest of three hours at 
White Plains, the column moved on to Warren- 
ton, where we are now in camp, with the pros- 
pect of remaining for some days. Our friends — 
the Fosters — are still at the Plains. But a 
shadow has fallen upon the hearth-stone. The 
son, a lieutenant in Major Moseby's Partisan 
Rangers (so they speak of Moseby and his men), 
is now a prisoner in Washington, confined in the 
Old Capitol. 

Bealton Station, July 26. — All our pleasant 
imaginings of a quiet time at Warrenton were 
suddenly dispelled yesterday morning by orders 
to march. " What does all this mean ?" "Where 
are we going?" were questions asked in no 
amiable mood. "Our supplies have been cut off 
at Catlett's Station," said one. "Bragg has re- 
inforced Lee, and the rebels are coming down 
the Manassas Gap Railroad to Bull Run," said 



CAMP AT BBALTON STATION. 



263 



another. Toward noon we reached Warren ton 
Junction, to find tliat tlie supplies were not cut 
off, and that Lee had no intention of coming to 
Bull Run. It was satisfactorily explained that 
we had moved to the railroad junction, to be 
nearer our base of supplies. Wagons were again 
unpacked, tents pitched, and arrangements made 
for a long stay at Warrenton Junction. Near 
sundown, when we were listening for the bugle 
to sound retreat, it sounded to march. " Where 
now?" all were ready to ask. "It is only a 
change of camp to get a better supply of water." 
But an order assigning the Eleventh Regiment 
as rear guard of the wagon train, was the end of 
all further speculation. A little after midnight 
we bivouacked at Bealton Station, where we are 
awaiting further orders. 

July 26, Evening. — The only move we have 
made to-day was to join the rest of the brigade, 
from which we were separated last night by the 
wagon train. With our tents pitched, we find 
ourselves comfortably located, and will accept 
Bealton Station as the resting-place we have 
been looking for since we left Warrenton. 

Monday, July 27. — A train of cars came from 
Alexandria, loaded with material for building 
the bridge at Rappahannock Station. One bri- 
gade of our division is now at the river, three 
miles distant. It seems to be the purpose to 
cross at the earliest practicable moment. But 



264 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



that cannot be for several days to come. Our 
men are sadlj in want of clothing, and many of 
the troops that have joined us since the last battle 
are unarmed. All these wants must be supplied 
before we can advance. 

Friday, July 31. — During the last four days 
Bealton Station has grown into quite a business 
center. Half a dozen trains arrive daily, loaded 
with all kinds of army supplies, i^ew clothing 
and equipments have been issued, and the rest 
enjoyed since Sabbath has had an improving 
effect upon the men. 

While the First Corps was marching through 
Loudon Yalley, in the rear and on the flank of 
the army, the other corps had been pushing rap- 
idly forward toward Manassas Gap, in the hope 
of intercepting Lee at Front Royal. The Third 
Corps reached the Gap on the 23d of July, the 
day of our halt at Middleburg. We w^ere then 
in advance of the rebels, and it was expected 
that the error committed at Williamsport would 
be atoned for at Manassas Gap. But instead of 
attacking with his usual earnestness, General 
French wasted a whole day in reconnoitering 
the position. "When the Gap was at last forced, 
it was only to find that he had been baflied by a 
small rear-guard, General Lee, in the mean time, 
making good his escape. Scouts report that the 
Southern army is now in position near Culpeper, 
while our own lines stretch along the north bank 



FIGHT AT BRANDY STATION. 265 



of the Rappaliannock, from Kelly's Ford on the 
left to Sulphur Springs on the right. A large 
cavalry force, under command of General Buford, 
is collecting here, which looks as if the pursuit 
,of Lee was still to he kept up. 

Saturday, August 1. — Across the Rappahan- 
nock, At five o'clock this morning we left 
Bealton Station and marched to the river. As 
soon, as the pontoon bridges were laid, the cav- 
alry crossed in force, and afterward Eohinson's 
Division of infantry. The Eleventh was at once 
placed in position on the knoll next to the river, 
and every man set to work throwing up intrench- 
ments. The cavalry continued the march toward 
Culpeper, in which' direction there has been 
severe fighting all afternoon, but with what 
result we cannot tell. 

Sunday, August 2. — The warmest day of the 
season; not a breath of air stirring; not a tree to 
protect the men from the scorching rays of the 
sun. All work on the intrenchments suspended 
because of the heat. 

The fight of yesterday was a serious afiuir. 
Encountering a force of rebel cavalry at Brandy 
Station, Buford opened the engagement, press- 
ing the enemy back near to Culpeper, when a 
heavy reinforcement of infantry fell upon the 
Federal flank, compelling a retreat to Brandy 
Station, with considerable loss. The entire rebel 
army is concentrated in the neighborhood of Cul- 
23 



266 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



peper; and it is possible that the fight may be 
renewed at any hour. 'No troops are here but 
those belonging to the First Corps. We must 
make our intrenchments count in the place of 
men. 

Monday, August 3. — The railroad bridge across 
the river was completed to-day, a locomotive pass- 
ing over to try its strength. Everj^thing is quiet 
on the ]3lain below. Our position is the same as 
yesterday, excepting that the Eleventh was moved 
further to the front this afternoon. We are now 
on the hill occupied during the engagement of 
last August, and which our boys claim especially 
as belonging to them. Here are the breastworks 
thrown up nearly a year ago. They have been 
strengthened this afternoon, and if the enemy 
should attack us again in this place, he will have 
a greeting quite as warm as on the former occa- 
sion. 

Tuesday, August 4. — We had about made up 
our minds that an opportunity would be afforded 
to test the strength of our intrenchments and 
our ability to hold them. The day passed quietly 
enough until two o'clock p.m., when the discharge 
of a cannon out in front brought every man to 
his feet. A few steps from our tent and the 
whole plain was visible. The rebels had planted 
a battery on the crest of a slight eminence, a mile 
distant, and opened a rapid fire on the pickets, 
at the same time they advanced a strong line of 



ELEVENTH ON HARTSUFF'S KNOLL. 267 

skirmishers. For a time everything looked as 
though a general engagement was inevitable. 
Our guns replied to the enemy; the cavalry 
formed in line of battle on the plains, and the 
iTinetieth Pennsylvania reinforcing the Elev- 
enth on the top of Hartsuff''s Knoll, the men 
took their places in the intrenchments. After 
two hours of brisk skirmishing, all the time 
gradually advancing, our cavalry compelled the 
enemy to withdraw. The plain is now quiet, but 
the troops are ordered to remain in the intrench- 
ments. 



CHAPTER YL 

OCCUPYINa THE LINE OF THE RAPIDAN. 

When General Meade reached the Rappahan- 
nock, he proposed at once to follow up the pur- 
suit of Lee, rather than to wait for the rebel 
general to rest his men and recruit his army. 
But orders from Washington directed Meade to 
assume a threatening attitude along the Rappa- 
hannock, but not to advance beyond it. The 
operations on the south side of the river, during 
the first days of August, were in obedience to 
General Halleck's orders. 

The campaign was now at an end. Through- 



268 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



out the month of August the army remained in 
undisturbed qaiet, receiving daily accessions to 
its numbers from the draft that had been made 
in the several I^'orthern States. Some of the 
drafted men were good and reliable soldiers; 
but the vast majority that first reached the army 
were hired substitutes, adding nothing whatever 
to its material strength. They deserted every 
day by scores, before they had time to learn the 
number of the regiment to which they were as- 
signed, or even the letter of the company. The 
di^T.sion guard-house became an indispensable in- 
stitution, often containing at one time a hundred 
prisoners. Courts-martial were in perpetual ses- 
sion, and the shooting of deserters an ordinary 
affair. 

The mortality among the conscripts, even of 
the better class, was fearfully great. Coming to 
the front in the heat of July and August, and 
taking their places by the side of men who had 
been inured to the service, they broke down on 
the march, or yielded to the first attack of dis- 
eases incident to camp life. 

Toward the 1st of September, the numerical 
strength of the army was greatly diminished by 
sending detachments of troops, first to South 
Carolina, and then to 'New York to enforce the 
draft. But the army of General Lee had under- 
gone a like depletion, Longstreet's Corps having 
been sent to the Southwest to reinforce Bragg. 



PICKETING KACCOON FORD. 



269 



Witliout waiting for instructions from Wash- 
ington, General Meade abandoned the line of the 
Rappahannock, and advanced to the Rapidan. 
The rebel army was found on the south bank, in 
a position so strongly fortified as to defy an at- 
tack in front. The country south of the river 
was almost unknown, and before a flank attack 
could be made — the only one promising any suc- 
cess — it was necessary that the territory should 
be explored by our cavalry. 

Meanwhile the disaster of Chickamauga oc- 
curred, and the Potomac Army was further weak- 
ened by the departure of the Eleventh and 
Twelfth Corps to Tennessee. With the army 
thus reduced, the attack on the enemy's flank 
was abandoned, and General Meade occupied 
the line of the Rapidan, as he had before occu- 
pied the line of the Rappahannock. 

Thursday, September 24th. — Moving from 
camp near Culpeper, the First Corps has taken 
the place of the Twelfth Corps, next to the river. 
The regiment is doing picket duty at Raccoon 
Ford. The history of the Eleventh marks each 
distinctive step of the war. First we did picket 
duty on the Potomac; then, advancing south- 
ward, on the Rappahannock, and now on the 
Rapidan. Will it come our turn, in the course 
of events, to picket the James? 

A part of the day has been spent with two 
men who are to be executed for desertion. One 
23* 



270 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



is an Irishman, and the other a German. The 
German has been in this country only two or 
three months, and is to be pitied as the victim 
of circumstances. The case of the Irishman is 
one of the many impositions practiced upon the 
government. A citizen of l^ew York, he sold 
himself for a substitute in Boston, and then took 
advantage of the first opportunity to desert. 

Sunday, September 27. — Broke up camp at 
noon, and after marching an hour through the 
woods and over the rocks that skirt the base of 
Pou}^ Mountain, halted in our present bivouac 
near Mitchell's Station, the railroad crossing of 
the Rapidan. The wherefore of these short and 
frequent moves is not quite plain to us. One 
thing, however, is apparent — our friends across 
the river do not mean that we shall come to 
their side of the stream, for, as usual, they are 
busy ditching and intrenching a position that 
nature has already rendered next to impreg- 
nable. 

Thursday, October 1. — These mellow, au- 
tumnal days slip away almost imperceptibly. 
September is gone, and we have entered upon 
October. So little has been accomplished since 
the battle of Gettysburg, that we fear to think 
the fall rains will soon commence. Virginia 
mud will be worth more to Lee than fifty thou- 
sand men. The cases of Sullivan and Yon He- 
nike are still in suspension. But another Ger- 



EXECUTION OF A DESERTER. 271 



man, named Schmidt, a conscript belonging to 
the JSTinetieth Regiment, has been added, to the 
condemned, and will be shot to-morrow. 

Friday, October 2. — Private Henry Schmidt 
was executed in presence of the entire division. 
It is well when a man is to be ushered into eter- 
nity, whatever is the nature of the crime for 
which he dies, that all the arrangements should 
be solemn and impressive. The troops were 
drawn up on three sides of the open grave, with 
space enough between the regiments in front for 
the funeral cortege to pass through. After the 
lines were formed, the slow notes of the band 
playing a funeral dirge, gave warning that the 
procession was approaching. The provost mar- 
shal of tbe division entered the arena, followed 
by an ambulance containing the condemned and 
a Catholic priest. Arrived at the grave, the 
coffin was placed at its side. The priest and tlie 
prisoner knelt a moment in prayer, then taking 
a seat on the coffin, the hands and feet of the 
condemned were pinioned, a bandage placed over 
his eyes, and all was ready for the execution. 
The commands were given in a clear, steady voice, 
"Ready — aim — tire !" Half a dozen balls entered 
the body near the heart, and without a move- 
ment of limb or muscle, the deserter was dead. 
Schmidt had been in the country only a few 
months. He was a stranger in a strange land. 
The friends he left behind in the fatherland will 



272 



STORY OF THE EEGIMENT. 



never know what lias become of him, and there 
will be none to mourn his ignoble fate. 

Wednesday, October 7. — Most of the regiment 
has been detailed for special picket duty. The 
Rapidan in front is so narrow, that the pickets of 
the two armies approach within a few yards of 
each other. With rare exceptions the utmost 
good feeling prevails, and a regular exchange 
of newspapers, coflee, sugar and tobacco is kept 
up. 

Friday, October 9. — The quartermaster is 
busy issuing eight days' rations to the men, 
always a sure intimation of a speedy move. 
Yesterday morning, as division officer of the day, 
Colonel Coulter had a short interview with a 
Confederate captain, stationed on the south side 
of the Rapidan. The rebels fired on our pickets 
stationed near the house of Dr. Stringfellow, and 
the meeting was in the interests of the family, 
who were in continual alarm for their personal 
safety. The officer said that the firing was unau- 
thorized, and had occurred through the removal 
of the old pickets and the substitution of others 
not acquainted with the order against picket 
firing. The fact of the interview was signaled 
all along the rebel lines, and read at our own 
stations. For some time the signal officers have 
thought themselves in possession of the key to 
the enemy's signals, and this slight event, appar- 
ently so accidental, has proved the surmising 



READING THE ENEMY'S SIGNALS. 273 



to be true. General Meade and staff spent the 
day at the signal station on Pony Mountain. 
The discovery of yesterday has doubtless much 
to do with present preparations for an advance. 
What a little thing sometimes develops great 
issues ! 

Sunday Morning, October 11. — Late on Friday 
night, orders were received indicating the char- 
acter of the move for which preparations had 
been making during the day. Buford's Division 
of cavalry was to cross the Eapidan at Germania 
Ford, and, marching up the south bank, uncover 
the foi^s of Morton and Raccoon, at which 
points the First Corps was to cross and move 
against the enemy's right, while the Sixth Corps 
was to attack his left. The infantry forces were 
to march as noiselessly as possible, and to be at 
the localities designated before daylight, so as 
not to awaken the suspicion of the enemy, or 
reveal the movements of the cavalry. 

Leaving camp at tw^o o'clock Saturday morn- 
ing, long before the hour appointed Robinson's 
Division was massed in the woods in front of 
Raccoon Ford, awaiting the approach of Buford. 
Hour after hour wore away, but no sign of our 
horsemen. A little after dusk yesterday even- 
ing, the cavalry still failing to appear, the divi- ' 
sion moved back to Culpeper pike, in sight of 
Stevensburg, where we remain in bivouac. It is 
rumored that while Meade is operating here on 



274 



STORY OP THE REGIMENT. 



tlie eiiemy's left, Lee is moving up toward our 
right. However that may be, the movement on 
this side of the Rapidan extends to the whole 
army, and no longer looks like an advance. 

Monday Morning, Oct. 12. — Yesterday after- 
noon the First Corps marched to Kelly's Ford, 
on the Rappahannock, the Eleventh in rear of 
Robinson's Division. 'No time was lost on the 
way, as it soon became known that the pickets 
had been withdrawn from the Rapidan, and the 
rebel cavalry was in close pursuit. Twice the 
regiment was halted to meet an expected charge 
of the enemy. As the sun was going down the 
men waded waist-deep through the waters of the 
Rappahannock, and formed in line on the north 
bank. Our batteries were unlimbered and placed 
in positions commanding not only the river ford, 
but all the opposite plain. General Baxter was 
ordered to keep a watch on the road over which 
we had come, and have a care lest we did 
not fire into Buford's men, who might find it 
necessary to fall back in this direction. The 
large brick-mill and neat dwelling-houses at the 
ford, the river-hills, and the broad, green plain 
on the opposite shore, seen in the lingering twi- 
light of yesterday evening, made up a picture 
the mind will long retain. 

Monday Evening. — The sharp firing heard all 
day, at short intervals, on our right, is certain 
evidence that the enemy, as well as ourselves, is 



A RAID ON THE SUTLERS. 



275 



making rapid moves. For several hours we have 
been in readiness to march. Just now an order 
was received for the wagons to proceed to Beal- 
ton Station, and the drivers are ah^eady in the 
saddle. 

The individuals who suffer most in these ex- 
cited army movements are the sutlers. A large 
train of them had ventured to the front with a 
heavy stock of goods. Halting with us here at 
Kelly's Ford, they have been doing a brisk trade. 
There is great alarm among them as they make 
for the rear; and great sport among the boys as 
one wagon after another (from whose wheels the 
pins have been secretly removed) breaks down, 
leaving their contents to the mercy of a hundred 
sly and roguish soldiers. That hurrah, this mo- 
ment heard, is everywhere understood to mean 
''cleaning out" a sutler's establishment, and 
never fails to bring forth a large body of recruits. 

Centerville, Wednesday, Oct. 14. — For the 
last thirty-six hours we have had scarcely more 
than time to breathe. Monday midnight the di- 
vision left Kelly's Ford for Warrenton Junction. 
All manner of rumors were in circulation as to 
the doings of the rebels. Some had it that they 
were moving in large force far up to our right; 
others again, that they were coming down from 
Warrenton. The latter report seemed the more 
probable; because from the Ford to the Junc- 
tion was all the way at a run, and with scarcely a 



276 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



halt. Robinson's Division was the first to reach 
the threatened point, and without a moment's 
delay artillery and infantry were formed in line 
of battle. 

If any one imagines it to be an easy thing to 
move an army, he should have seen the sight 
that here presented itself, l^ot far in the rear 
was heard the roar of cannon; but louder than 
this came the rumbling of hundreds of wagons, 
that in every direction skirted the horizon, and 
covered the plain. By every avenue troops were 
pouring in, until the eye wearied of the watch- 
ing. Waiting in line of battle for two hoars, 
Robinson moved on to Catlett's Station, and 
then to Bristow, where, foot-sore and tired, we 
bivouacked for the night. 

Early this morning the division was again in 
line, moving toward Manassas. A courier re- 
ported Manassas Junction occupied during the 
night by a force of the enemy. Skirmishers 
were thrown out on either flank and in front. 
Slowly and cautiously the troops advanced, halt- 
ing occasionally that the skirmishers might enter 
some copse of woods, or turn some angle in the 
road far enough in advance to give the main 
column notice of danger. But not a foe was 
to be seen to dispute our march. Over Ma- 
nassas plains and across Bull Bun we continued 
to these bights of Centerville, within whose for- 
tifications we are ordered to halt. Thousands of 



MYSTERIOUS MOVEMENTS. 



27T 



armed men, and bristling cannon, and wMte- 
topped wagons crowd the roads below. What it 
all means is to us a profound mystery. 



CHAPTEE YII. 

FROM THE RAPIDAN TO CENTERVILLE. 

The reason of the retrograde march soon be- 
came apparent. As already stated. General 
Meade determined to assault the enemy's right 
in the vicinity of Raccoon and Morton Fords. 
From the bights of Pony Mountain and Slaugh- 
ter's Hill the country had been carefulty studied, 
and the plan of attack thoroughly discussed. 
But the last view from those look-outs presented 
a new scene to the eyes of our signal officers. It 
told that a movement of vast magnitude — the 
very counterpart of our own — was in progress on 
the south side of the Rapidan. Lee was as well 
satisfied that he could turn the Federal right, 
and break our communications with Washing- 
ton, as Meade was that he could turn the rebel 
right, and break Lee's communications with Rich- 
mond; and the singular coincidence occurred of 
the two armies moving to attack one another at 
24 



278 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



the same time, aud on the same though opposite 
flanks. 

Confident of the enemy's intentions, Gen- 
eral Meade determined to select his own battle- 
ground. The cavalry was thrown out to watch 
Lee's movements; Pleasanton occupying the 
ground between the Rappahannock and Cul- 
peper, and Grregg guarding the fords near and 
above Warrenton. The commanding general 
looked to Grregg for the earliest information of 
the whereabouts and the doings of the enemy 
on his right. 

The Federal army was that moment en route 
for Warrenton Junction, along which line it was 
intended to await the approach of the Southerners. 
But no word coming from Gregg that would in- 
dicate the appearance of the enemy on the Upper 
Rappahannock, and Pleasanton reporting that 
Lee was concentrating around Culpeper, the 
troops were halted, and three corps moved back 
to Brandy Station. 

A reconnoitering party kept on to Culpeper, 
but without meeting any force of the rebels. 
It began to be thought that General Lee had 
countermanded marching orders, and that his 
troops were going back into the old position 
along the Rapidan. Thus passed the 12th of 
October until ten o'clock at night, when word 
came in from Gregg that his cavalry was at- 
tacked by an overpowering force of the enemy, 



FIRST CORPS AT BRISTOW STATION. 279 



and driven from their defenses witli great loss. 
He was then within five miles of Warrenton 
Junction, hard pressed by Ewel], with whom he 
had been contending since eleven o'clock a.m. 

It was a critical moment. On our right flank 
were the advancing columns of Lee's entire army, 
while our own corps were distributed, one at Free- 
man's Ford, three at Brandy Station, across the 
Eappahannock, and one at Kelly's Ford. The 
darkness of the night favored the concentration 
of our troops, and the correction in part of Gregg's 
error. But Meade was compelled to move fur- 
ther in toward his base, in order to get the army 
together and recover a position on the line of 
his communications. 

The First Corps came to Warrenton Junction, 
by way of Bealton, without opposition. 'No 
enemy showing himself, after a halt of two hours 
the troops were pushed on to Bristow Station, 
and then to Manassas, ^ot a living thing was 
to be seen moving over those broad plains, on 
which had settled down the very silence of death. 
Far to the left great clouds of dust were driving 
along by the blustering October w^inds. Lee was 
still moving over the Warrenton pike, with the 
hope of occupying Centerville, and thus compel 
Meade to open his communications with Wash- 
ington by first attacking that strong position. 
The First Corps continued its steady and rapid 
march, reaching the hights of Centerville at 
noon of October 14th. 



280 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Althougli a day behind the rebels in the start 
of that exciting race, we were now several hours 
in advance. General Ewell, whose corps led the 
opposing army, in his eagerness to strike our 
flank, left the plain road over which he was march- 
ing, and penetrated a section of country lyiug be- 
tween the railroad and the Warrenton turnpike. 
It proved a terra incognita, in which his entire corps 
w^as lost. Heath's Division came up with the 
rear of the Federal army at Bristow, and follow- 
ing close after it to Kettle Run, the skirmish 
assumed the outlines of a fierce battle. Heath 
losing five pieces of artillery, two stands of colors, 
and five hundred prisoners. 

There was something too threatening in those 
fortified bights of Centerville, bristling with ar- 
tillery and crowded with infautrj^, for General 
Lee to come further north, and his troops halted 
south of Bull Run. The Federal army now well 
in hand. General Meade at once countermarched 
his troops, ready to accept battle wherever the 
enemy might offer it. 

Cub Run, October 15. — Three hours after 
reaching Centerville Robinson's Division moved 
back along the Warrenton turnpike to Bull Run. 
The Eleventh formed in line to the left of Stone 
Bridge, extending some distance down the stream. 
Along this same road the army has twice re- 
treated in rout and confusion. The extreme 
care with which the pickets were stationed ; the 



THE REPRIEVED DESERTER. 



281 



strict orders given to the men; and the low tone 
of voice in which all commands passed down the 
column, betokened danger, and seemed to point 
to the possibility of a third engagement on this 
ill-fated field. Ko fires were allowed to be kin- 
dled, and with blankets spread on the ground, 
we went to sleep, watching the bright stars 
that shone in the overhanging sky. The night 
passed without the firing of a shot; and this 
morning the Eleventh moved to the hights of 
Cub Run, where we still remain in line of battle, 
with several large guns in position on the hill 
above us. 

Friday, October 16. — 'No change since yester- 
day. The troops are in line of battle awaiting 
the movements of the enemy, who is reported as 
massing large forces directly in front. 

To know the meaning of Despair and Hope 
one must have such an experience as was this 
day afibrded at the division guard-house. The 
execution of Harrison, convicted of desertion at 
the battle of Fredericksburg, was fixed at twelve 
o'clock noon. We called to see him at ten 
o'clock. His countenance was haggard and care- 
worn. It was hard for him to realize that he 
must die so soon ; but he saw no avenue of escape, 
and had given up all hope. Some time was spent 
in writing to his mother, begging her to forget 
the manner of his death, and to believe that he 
never intended to desert. His personal efiects 
24* 



282 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



were given into our keeping, together with mes- 
sages for several absent friends. It was now past 
eleven o'clock. The ambulance in which the 
condemned was to ride to the grave, and also 
containing the coffin, had driven up along the 
roadside ; while the beating of the drums, that 
announced the forming of the division to witness 
the execution, could be distinctly heard. Every- 
thing was ready to carry out the sentence of the 
court-martial, and the officer only delayed for 
the word of command. Presently there came 
the sound of a horse's hoofs clattering over the 
hard stony road. It was an aid from army head- 
quarters, not to order the procession forward, 
but bearing in his hands a commutation of the 
death penalty. The complacent smile on the 
face of the rider betrayed the nature of his mes- 
sage before it was read aloud in the hearing of 
the prisoner. Harrison looked at the officer 
for a moment with a vacant stare, and then ex- 
claimed, in a wild and hurried manner: 

" Read it again, won't you ? Does it mean me ? 
Are you sure there is no other Harrison in the 
army ? Am I really to live ?" 

His tongue refused to say anything more. 
Nerves strung to the utmost tension now relaxed ; 
and, prostrate on the ground, the reprieved man 
gave expression to feelings too deep for words in 
tears of joy. Saw Harrison an hour ago. That 
look of fixed despair was gone. The light of hope 



SECOND BULL RUN BATTLE-FIELD. 283 

was in his eye, giving him the appearance of 
quite another being. 

Monday, October 19. — General Lee refuses 
battle, though offered to him on the field of Bull 
Kun. He is now retiring in the direction of the 
Rappahannock, but will hardly be permitted to 
do so in undisturbed leisure. Five o'clock this 
morning the First and Sixth Corps were moving 
toward Gainesville and Hayniarket. The route 
was across Bull Run and along the Warrenton 
pike. Leaving the regiment halted near the 
Henry House, took a hasty ride over the ground 
of the second Bull Run battle. It did not look 
as though the foot of a human being had passed 
over it since the day of the fight. Boxes half 
filled with ammunition, and others again entirely 
empty, knapsacks stuffed with clothing now rotten 
and musty, and haversacks containing the moulded 
remains of the last scanty issue of rations, lay 
scattered about just as we had seen them during 
the engagement. From the spot where the regi- 
ment halted on the night of August 29th, Ave 
rode to the extreme right of the line, where the 
division was sent to the support of Heintzleman. 
Coming back over the same path traversed by the 
Eleventh in its rapid move to the left, we stood 
on Bald Hill, and looked down into the woods 
out of which poured the rebels, arid over the 
fields through which they came, on the afternoon 
of the 30th, in such overwhelming masses. The 



284 



STORY OP THE REGIMENT. 



field presented a loathsome sight. Human bones, 
washed from their shallow graves hj the rains of 
the past year, covered the ground, telling more 
plainly than the living tongue can tell of the 
horrors of war. The Eleventh is bivouacked be- 
tween Gainesville and Haymarket. 

Tuesday, October 20. — After my note of yes- 
terday was made, and toward the dusk of even- 
ing, we became aware that the enemy was in our 
front, but in what numbers it was impossible to 
tell. A heavy detail of pickets from the Third 
Division, and a battery of four guns, advanced 
through Haymarket, and formed in line. Pres- 
ently the battery opened a quick fire, lasting for 
several minutes. Then all was quiet for an hour. 
Another rail was added to the camp-fire, and the 
men laid down to wait the developments of the 
morning. But the discharge of a single musket, 
that soon multiplied into volleys, brought every 
man to his post, ready to meet the danger. Again 
the noise in front ceased, and after extinguish- 
ing the fire whose genial warmth was so needful 
to our personal comfort, the men once more lay 
down to sleep. To any one who had seen the 
dead of the battle-field arranged in rows for 
burial, those ranks of men, wrapped up head and 
foot in blankets and ponchos, would have sug- 
gested the f bought of dead men awaiting sepul- 
ture. This morning brings the report that the 
attack of last night was made by a party of guer- 



THE DETECTED CONSCRIPT. 



285 



rillas who drove in our pickets, capturing thirty 
or forty prisoners and so exciting the rest as to 
cause them to fire upon each other. The Elev- 
enth is now advanced a mile beyond Hay market, 
supporting a force of cavalry sent out toward 
Thoroughfare Gap. 

These rapid marches that we have been making 
for the past few days have been particularly hard 
on the conscripts — the "conneys,'' as the boys 
call them for short. They have not yet learned 
to march with the same ease as the old soldier, 
and many of them present a pitiful appearance 
in their efl:brts to keep up with the column. One 
man particularly, who complained of a stiff knee, 
awakened our sympathy as he hobbled along 
under a heavy knapsack and gun. After earnest 
solicitation, an ambulance driver agreed to haul 
his knapsack, and when not overcrowded with 
sick, allow the fellow to ride. But from the first, 
the doctors suspected that it was all pretense, and 
that the man was playing a part. Yesterday even- 
ing, after the regiment halted for the night, to be 
certain of his case, the soldier was taken in to a tent 
and chloroform administered. He had complained 
that the knee-joint was so rigid from a hurt re- 
ceived in youth that it would not bend. But it 
was found uninjured, and flexible as the other. 
Tying the foot back so as to bring the limb in a 
kneeling posture, the conney was aroused to con- 
sciousness. One look at the laughing spectators, 



286 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



and another at his kuee, was enough. He was 
heard to say, as he left the tent, "Played out I" 
This morning he was in the ranks, sound and 
well. 

Thoroughfare Gap, October 21. — The First 
Corps commenced moving late on Tuesday. Cav- 
alry scouts reported a large body of the enemy 
concentrating at White Plains, with the intention 
of falling upon our rear, should we keep up the 
pursuit of Lee to the Eappahannock. J^ew tac- 
tics must now be resorted to by the enemy. Occu- 
pying this mountain pass, as we do, it would be a 
hazardous adventure to attempt its passage. This 
is an interesting spot to the Eleventh Regiment, 
not only because several companies were sta- 
tioned in this vicinity, guarding the railroad, in 
the spring of 1862, but it is the scene of our first 
severe battle. As soon as it was known that the 
march was not to be resumed this morning, in 
company with Major Keenan, we passed through 
Chapman's mill, the strong barricade of the 
rebels, and on to the hill above, across which our 
men drove the astonished enemy. 

" I was standing here by this rock," said the 
major, "hurrying up the men of Co. K, when I 
was shot. I saw the soldier as he raised his gun 
and aimed directly toward me, and felt confident 
that he would hit me. But there was such a brief 
moment between the look and the shot, that per- 
haps I confound the thought that he was taking 



EXCITING CAMP RUMORS. 



287 



sure aim with the fact itself. I was near enough 
to the fellow to see his face, and it is singular 
how his features remain fixed in my mind. I be- 
lieve now that I could distinguish him from a 
regiment of SouthernerSj though they do look 
so much alike." 

Friday, October 23. — Yesterday and to-day 
have been days of quiet and rest. We who are in 
camp, trusting to the vigilance of a strong guard 
of reliable pickets to keep off' the roving bands of 
guerrillas that infest these mountains, have given 
ourselves up to discussing the various rumors of 
the hour, exciting enough to arouse the utmost 
stoic. Rosecrans, whose very name hitherto has 
been a talisman of strength, has been relieved 
from the command of the Cumberland Army. 
General Thomas succeeds Eosecrans, while to 
General Grant is given the command of the de- 
partment. In the wake of this dispatch comes 
the rumor that General Meade has been removed 
from the Army of the Potomac, and that Gen- 
eral Sedgwick is to be his successor. There is 
the usual excitement among the troops always 
attendant upon a change in army commanders. 
Some are loud in their defense of Meade, while 
others again, with equal warmth, condemn him. 
One thing is certain. General Meade has added 
nothing to his fame since the battle of Gettys- 
burg, and it is questionable if he has the same 
hold upon the troops now that he had then. 



288 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



CHAPTEH Yin. 

GETTING BACK TO THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 

On the 25tli day of October the Federal army 
was concentrated at Bristow Station. General 
Lee rapidly retired before our advance, but at the 
same time effectually destroyed the Orange Rail- 
road from Bristow to the Rappahannock. A 
further pursuit was impossible until this main 
artery of supplies was repaired, and to this one 
object all the resources of the army were ap- 
plied. 

In the mean time, the Confederate army strongly 
fortified the defenses at Rappahannock Station, 
and confident in the belief that General Meade 
could not make another advance during the sea- 
son, had gone into winter quarters on the south 
bank of the stream. But our cavalry, without 
waiting on the tardy movements of the infantry, 
penetrated the enemy's lines, felt the strength of 
his position, and learned the points of attack and 
defense. 

The relation of that army to our own was such as 
to warrant the belief that by marching three corps 
to Kelly's Ford, and thence across the Rapidan at 



THE ELEVENTH AT MORRISVILLE. 289 

Germania Ford, while the two remaining corps 
moved by way of Rappahannock Station, the 
rear of the rebel army conld be reached, and 
Lee's line of communication with Richmond 
severed. 

The new movement was at once inaugurated, 
and with a degree of spirit that of itself insured 
success. The First, Second, and Third Corps 
were to cross at Kelly's Ford, and the Fifth and 
Sixth Corps at Rappahannock Station. The 
preliminary move concentrated the corps at Cat- 
lett's Station, and on Saturday morning, ]!!^ovem- 
ber 7th, the army was again in motion. 

l^EAR MoRRisviLLE, l^ovcmber 7. — Six o'clock 
this morning the Eleventh Regiment was bring- 
ing up the rear of Robinson's Division. It was 
understood, before leaving Catlett's, that a grand 
movement was in contemplation that might take 
us further south than the army had yet essayed 
to go. We are now within five miles of the 
river at Morrisville, a cluster of houses near the 
junction of the roads leading to Kelly's Ford and 
Falmouth. A part of our forces have already 
reached the river, as heavy firing is heard in that 
direction. The night air is cold and chilly, re- 
minding us of the comforts of stoves and fire- 
places that we had gathered around us during 
our stay at Bristow. 

Brandy Station, Sunday, N'ovember 8. — The 
clear, shrill blast of the bugle, sounding from 
25 



290 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



brigade headquarters at four o'clock this morn- 
ing, cut short our slumbers, and from the land of 
dreams brought us back to the realities of a fall 
campaign. Half an hour later, the Eleventh was 
leading the division in the march, and the division 
leading the corps. The direction in which the 
army is moving, and the prospect ahead, alwaj^s 
make a difference in the conduct of the men. At 
other times lively and hilarious, awake to every- 
thing that can provoke a criticism, and ready to 
laugh at it, when the enemy is in front, and a battle 
imminent, a quiet that of itself becomes solemn 
possesses the most garrulous. Every one is in 
communion with himself; and what thoughts are 
born of those silent moments; what high resolves 
are formed, or what earnest prayers go up to 
Heaven, are only known to Him who can read 
man's heart. It was so this morning. The troops 
were marching toward the river through a deep 
pine forest, the slow firing in front telling of the 
presence of the enemy, and for more than an 
hour scarcely a word was spoken that disturbed 
the current of our meditations. 

The fight of yesterday afternoon was for posses- 
sion of the river crossing, in which the enemy lost 
a pontoon bridge, four pieces of artillery, and 
twelve or fifteen hundred men in killed and pris- 
oners. On our arrival at the river hill, the Third 
Corps was passing over under cover of the artillery, 
and toward ten o'clock all the troops were across 



BIVOUAC ON AUBURN FARM. 



291 



moving up the south side to Rappahannock Sta- 
tion. The passage of the river at Kelly's Ford 
flanked the strong position at the railroad bridge, 
causing the enemy in front of the Fifth and 
Sixth Corps to fall back to Culpeper. The army, 
thus united, moved to Brandy Station in long 
battle lines, sweeping across the entire plain, and 
presenting a sight of great animation. Here we 
are in bivouac, with our faces toward Culpeper. 
The Eleventh occupies a part of the grounds of 
John Minor Botts. In our frequent marches over 
this disputed territory, the troops have often been 
compelled to make a detour of many weary steps 
to save passing through the fields of this im- 
portant individual. During the late retrograde, 
three thousand rebel cavalry halted for the night 
on Auburn farm, burning up the fence-rails, and 
appropriating to their own use a plentiful supply 
of corn and oats. The soldiers have never had 
the same respect for Botts that army commanders 
appear to entertain ; and no tears are shed over 
the losses that are said to make the irate old 
Virginian more crust}^ than ever. 

Near Liberty, Tuesday, ITovember 10. — Yes- 
terday passed in comparative quiet until an hour 
before sundown, when with an alarming sud- 
denness the whole army was in motion. It only 
made the excitement greater to observe that in- 
stead of moving to Culpeper, we were taking the 
backward track toward the Kappahannock. Ar- 



292 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



tilleiy and wagons made tlie most of the good 
roads, as the very spirit of Jehu took possession 
of the drivers. 

"Another race for Manassas," whispered the 
brigade commissary, as he rode past to take 
charge of his supply train. 

When we reached the north hank of the river 
it was discovered that only the First Corps was 
on the wing, and that instead of Manassas as its 
destination, the corps was to he placed along the 
line from the Rappahannock to Warrenton Junc- 
tion. A detachment of four regiments and a 
section of artillery, under command of Colonel 
Coulter, is stationed at this point, reached last 
night at ten o'clock. 

It is the intersection of three roads, one lead- 
ing to the upper fords of the river, another direct 
to Warrenton, and a third running parallel to 
the railroad, and at present used by our trains 
in conveying supplies to the front. From the 
location of Liberty, the special duty of the de- 
tachment, as may be inferred, is to fill up a 
gap through which Stuart or Moseby might fall 
upon our wagons, or capture the stores at Beal- 
ton Station, two miles distant. 

Friday, IS^ovember 13. — Our camp is in the 
midst of a pine forest, whose trees have been cut 
out to make room for the quarters of officers and 
men; while a fence, constructed of green pine 
boughs, incloses the entire space. Just now the 



CAMP NEAR LIBERTY. 



293 



weather has all the genial warmth of a I^orthern 
Indian summer; and if soldier life were ever like 
that we have been living for the past few days, war 
would not be a frightful thing. There is only 
enough of actual danger to make the pickets 
watchful, and prevent the men from straying too 
far from camp. Passing down the several com- 
pany streets this evening, beginning with Co. A 
on the right, and ending with Co. B on the left, 
you might notice at the head of each street, ex- 
cept one, comfortable board shanties, the quarters 
of the several line officers. The exception is Co. Gr. 
Our boys have come to believe that in some way 
or other the movements of the regiment are con- 
nected with the building of Captain McGrew's 
quarters. For a long time past it has been ob- 
served that at the moment the captain has fin- 
ished fixing up for a lengthy stay in camp, orders 
to march have been received. ITeither officers 
nor men have the slightest disposition to leave 
Liberty; and as a condition that he will be in no 
hurry to complete his house. Captain McGrew 
is the guest of all the other companies, entitled 
to the choice seat at table, and the extra blanket 
at night. 

Sunday, iS'ovember 15. — A heavy rain last night, 
with thunder and lightning. To-day the weather 
is cool and cloudy. Most of the Eleventh is out 
of camp on special duty, giving to our quarters 
an unusual quiet. A soldier belonging to the 
25* 



294 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



ITintli ISTew York died suddenly this morning, 
and was buried an hour ago. There is some- 
thing touchingly sad in these army funerals; 
not that they are wanting in feeling, or in any 
of the respect which the living everywhere pay 
to departed friends. But do the best we can, 
and it is only a rough sepulture. A blanket is 
at once winding-sheet and coffin. Sometimes 
in an obscure corner of the camp, and again 
along the roadside, a square trench receives the 
remains. A rude board, unskillfuUy inscribed 
with name, company, and regiment, may tell 
who lies there, but far more frequently even 
this is wanting; and there is nothing to distin- 
guish the grave of a brave soldier from the com- 
mon earth that surrounds it. 

Wednesday, November 18. — There has been 
no little excitement in camp during the last three 
days. Sunday morning one of our men went to 
a farm-house near by to purchase something for 
the mess. The farmer would not allow him to 
alight; but pointing to three horses tied up at a 
residence quarter of a mile distant, told him they 
were Moseby's guerrillas, and to make his way 
back to camp as fast as possible. The farmer 
himself has been suspected of belonging to 
Moseby, and was given to understand that he 
would be held responsible for attacks on the 
pickets, or any of the men near his premises, 
which may have been the reason of his anxiety 



AFTER THE GUERRILLAS. 



295 



for the safety of Mike. From the manner in 
which both rider and horse came panting into 
camp, the farmer's instructions must have been 
obeyed to the letter. A party went out in pur- 
suit of the guerrillas, scouring the country for 
several miles. The road they had taken was 
readily shown by those of whom inquiry was 
made; but in every instance certainly' the wrong- 
one, for nothing could be seen of the flying 
horsemen. Monday morning the whole field 
and staff of the Eleventh, with tlie addition of 
several cavalrymen, renewed the search, with no 
better success. To-day the picket line was se- 
cretly extended, taking in several of the sus- 
pected houses, and the three gentlemen who 
have been prowling about our camp since Sun- 
day, were taken prisoners. They were on foot 
when captured, and armed with navy revolvers. 
Guerrilla warfare is little better than cowardly 
assassination. If G-eneral Meade will send the 
prisoners to the detachment stationed at Liberty 
for proper punishment, the census of Virginia 
will be reduced by three before morning. 

Thursday, i^ovember 19. — Expecting a speedy 
move. The paymaster has been here to-day, 
paying oflf the regiment for the months of Sep- 
tember and October. Then there has been a 
canceling of the conditions between Captain 
McGrew and the line officers, and the headquar- 
ters of Co. G are nearly completed. It hap- 



296 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



pened in this wise: The captain's negro man, 
lost during the night of our march to Liberty, 
and carrying with him the entire commissariat 
of his master, suddenly turned up to-day, minus 
everything but a handleless coffee-pot. The 
captain insisted on including Bob in the liberal 
conditions made for his own easy subsistence. 
But the party of the second part strongly de- 
murred, saying many things of the looks and 
habits of the African in question neither com- 
plimentary nor polite. The result was a disso- 
lution of the social compact between the Captain 
of Co. G- and the other line officers of the Elev- 
enth Regiment. 

The delightful fall weather still continues. 
When the sun goes down, the frosty evening air 
is tempered by the huge fires burning through- 
out the camp, and around which the men gather 
in groups. The conversation is more generally 
retrospective than prospective; suggested, pos- 
sibl}^, by the presence of one whose arm or leg 
has not quite recovered from some serious wound, 
and who now, in the midst of attentive listeners, 
recounts the mishaps of past battles. IN'oble, of 
Co. A, and Murdock, of Co. E, were both re- 
ported killed, the latter at Thoroughfare Gap, 
and the former at Bull Run. I^^oble was left on 
the battle-field nearly a week. Toward evening 
of the day of the fight, a Confederate soldier 
came along and placed near him a haversack 



ADVENTURES OF THE WOUNDED. 297 



tolerably well filled, and a canteen of water. 
Fortunately for IToble, he had fallen near a clump 
of bushes, which afforded ample shade during the 
heat of the day. With his haversack and can- 
teen, he began to calculate that although a 
Minie ball had penetrated his side, producing a 
painful wound, and entirely disabling him, his 
chances for living were still tolerably fair. 'Next 
day another rebel soldier passing that way, gave 
it as his opinion that the sergeant would die in 
exactly three hours ; and lest they should fall 
into more worthless hands, relieved him of haver- 
sack and canteen. Then he was compelled to 
beg of those that lingered around the battle-field 
for the sake of the spoils. One gave him a drink 
of water, another a cracker, and a third put a 
blanket under his head. Two days later three 
or four Virginia soldiers came along in company, 
one of whom wanted his shoes. 

'^No," said Koble; "these are all I have, and 
you can't get them." "But see here, Yankee," 
replied the Southerner, "you'll die anyhow to- 
morrow. My shoes are all worn out ; yours are 
good, and I will have them." He then stooped 
down and began to untie N'oble's shoes. "isTo 
doubt," retorted the wounded Federal, "you are 
a brave fellow. Only a brave soldier like you 
are would take the shoes from a man unable to 
help himself. You always bring up the rear- 
guard in time of battle, don't you ?" The com- 



298 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



panions of the Confederate, who had been look 
ing on all the while, raised a loud laugh, and the 
Virginian walked away, leaving the sergeant in 
possession of his shoes. On the sixth day, one 
of our ambulances, sent out under a flag of truce 
to bring off the wounded, passed near him. He 
called to the driver and begged to be taken up. 
But the ambulance had already a full load, and 
the driver said he would take no more. The 
offer of money, however, touched the fellow's 
heart sooner than the wounded man's condition, 
and a comfortable passage was secured to one of 
the Washington hospitals. 

Sergeant Murdock was reported killed at 
Thoroughfare Gap. He was shot through both 
legs at the moment our men were retiring 
from the hill from which they had driven the 
enemy. After laying for some time in a par- 
tially unconscious state, he became aware of 
some one coming toward him. It was a rebel 
picket, feeling his way slowly over the rough and 
uneven ground. The Southerner had raised his 
gun, ready to shoot, when a groan brought him 
to the side of the wounded Federal. Between 
the two thus introduced, there sprung up the 
most kindly feeling, and in his new friend Mur- 
dock found a protector against several fellows of 
the baser sort, who shortly after arrived, plun- 
dering the living as well as the dead. From 
Thoroughfare Gap he was conveyed to Warren- 



THE END OF A PRACTICAL JOKE. 299 



ton, the rebel general hospital, and was there on 
the 26th of the following September, when the 
town was captured by our cavalry. A week or 
so prior to that attack, a visit from the Yankees 
was hourly expected. Then came wild stories, 
that Washington and Baltimore were in posses- 
sion of Southern troops, and that Lincoln and his 
Cabinet had fled to Philadelphia. The Yankees 
were entirely forgotten, and everybody gave 
themselves up to the joys of the hour. One fine 
afternoon, a number of ladies were visiting the 
hospital. Some young Southern beaus, who had 
been watching from the cupola of the building a 
squadron of cavalry going through the quick 
evolutions of the drill, came down in apparent 
alarm, and announced that the Yankees were 
approaching the town in force. Of course the 
ladies were frightened, and the gentlemen too, 
not in the secret of the joke. But, alas for the 
jokers, the cavalry force they had supposed to be 
their own, were genuine Yankees, and in less 
than half an hour the town was in our posses- 
sion ! 

Friday, I^ovember 20. — Yesterday afternoon 
a young lady, attended by an ancient negro, came 
into camp, asking the services of a physician in 
behalf of her mother. It was too late an hour in 
the day at once to accompany the lady to her 
home ; but after leaving explicit directions how 
to find the house, she was dismissed witfi the as- 



300 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



su ranee that the doctor would see her mother in 
the morning. The lady was sincere enough to 
say that guerrillas were frequently seen in the 
neighborhood in which she lived, and begged of 
the surgeon not to come alone. It would be 
better to come in such numbers as either to over- 
awe an attack or be able to resist it. It cannot 
be said that no suspicions were entertained as to 
the designs of the fair visitor. Some accused 
her of acting the part of a spy, and regarded the 
guerrilla story as made up to deceive. Others de- 
clared that the intention was to invite all the 
mounted officers belonging to the regiment out 
of camp, and then make a wholesale capture of 
them. It was at last decided that if guerrillas 
were so near camp we had better know it; and 
if the young lady were an accomplice, she ought 
to be secured before imparting to them any 
knowledge she might have gained by coming 
within our lines. 

Fully armed and equipped, a' party of ten, 
under command of Captain Haines, started this 
morning through the woods and over the fields, 
two miles beyond the picket lines, to the resi- 
dence of Mrs. Kelley. It is an old Virginia 
mansion, large enough in its dimensions to recall 
the halcyon days of Virginia hospitality. Within 
and without everything indicated taste and re- 
finement. The captain had observed the pre- 
caution of posting a part of the escort outside of 



THE doctor's outside PATIENT. 301 

the house to give alarm in case of danger. Thus 
secure in the enjoyment of the conversation of 
two intelligent ladies (the mother did not prove 
to be seriously indisposed), interspersed with de- 
lightful music by the younger, an hour passed 
rapidly away. It was like suddenly transplant- 
ing us from the roughness of soldier life to all 
the kindly endearments of home. As we bid 
adieu to those who had made us so happy, and 
turned our faces camp ward, we laughed at our 
unfounded suspicions, and sincerely wished that 
the doctor might have many such patients. 

Saturday, lN"ovember 21. — It is a serious ques- 
tion whether, after all, the pleasant termination 
of yesterday's adventure was not owing more to 
good fortune than prudence. The events of to- 
day have almost confirmed the first suspicions 
entertained of the young lady who visited our 
camp on Thursday, and that a few hours ago we 
were so ready to laugh away. A parly of guer- 
rillas, variously estimated at seventy-five to one 
hundred and fifty strong, just now attacked a 
supply train, under escort of a small cavalry 
force. The guard was overpowered, and taking 
refuge in flight, fell back on the first line of 
pickets. The guerrillas were dressed in blue 
overcoats, and before they could be distinguished 
from our own men, succeeded in capturing five 
or six of the infantry pickets. The alarm soon 
became general, and the whole detachment was 
26 



302 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



speedily under arms. But after robbing their 
prisoners of money, overcoats, and haversacl^, 
and with eighteen mules and four horses, Moseby 
was off as suddenly as he came. A cavalry force 
was sent out in immediate pursuit, and a second 
squadron is preparing to follow. 

Was the young lady an accomplice of these 
thieving fellows, and did she really intend to 
lead us into the hands of this party, whose ar- 
rival she had calculated a day too soon ? Ap- 
pearances are certainly much against her, and 
in the absence of positive proof, we have con- 
cluded to decline the very polite invitation to call 
again ! 

Sunday, i^'ovember 22. — Three or four of the 
guerrilla party that entered our lines yesterday 
have been captured. It scarcely admits of a doubt 
that these robbers are citizens of the immediate 
vicinity, so familiar with every nook and corner 
that their capture in any numbers is next to im- 
possible. Those captured to-day were taken in 
the very act of changing the attire of the soldier 
for that of the farmer. 

An hour after sundown orders were received 
to be ready to marcli to-morrow morning. The 
men are now engaged in cooking the extra ra- 
tions that have been issued, and a buzzing noise 
is heard throughout the camp, in strong contrast 
with the former repose of the day. For some 
reason, as yet unexplained. General Meade's late 



PREPARING TO MARCH. 



303 



crossing of the Rappahannock, though a com- 
plete surprise to the enemy, resulted in nothing 
more than the army occupying its old position 
around Culpeper. It was a small advantage to 
be purchased at the loss of a good many lives ; 
and in the opinion of leading generals, a great 
mistake was committed in not following out the 
original plan of pushing across the Rapidan and 
attacking the rebel rear. The order received 
this evening does not give the line of march; 
but it is intimated, now that the railroad is fin- 
ished to Brandy Station, that the Rapidan is to 
be forded at several points, and an earnest effort 
made to reach Gordonsville. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE MINE RUN CAMPAIGN. 

Rappahannock Station, Wednesday, N^ovem- 
ber 25. — The entire army has been halted here at 
Rappahannock Station since Monday, awaiting 
the holding up of a cold, drizzling rain that com- 
menced falling on Tuesday morning. The sky 
is clear now, and with the stiff wind that has 
been blowing since noon, the roads must become 
at least passably good in a few hours. There is 



304 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



no longer any secrecy about the contemplated 
move. A Washington paper received this after- 
noon gives the whole programme. General 
Meade's scouts report that the lines of the enemy 
are so formed as to leave uncovered all the 
lower fords of the Rapidan ; that Swell's Corps 
is next to the river, and Hill's Corps in the vi- 
cinity of Orange Court House, leaving a space 
between them of seven or eight miles. Our 
present object is to gain this interval, prevent a 
union between Ewell and Hill, and give them 
battle in detail. Whatever is done must be 
done quickly. There is not an hour to spare. It 
is late in the season, and bad weather and bad 
roads may be expected any moment. 

South of the Rapidan, i^^ovember 26. — The 
moon was shining in a cloudless sky when we left 
Rappahannock Station this morning. After cross- 
ing the river on the railroad bridge, the Division 
marched down stream. It soon became known 
that the First Corps was to cross the Rapidan at 
Culpeper Mines, while the other corps crossed at 
the several different fordings above. We of the 
Eleventh did not forget that it was the national 
thanksgiving day on which the movement was 
inaugurated, and our trust is that God will hear 
the prayers this day offered up in behalf of our 
cause. Our thanksgiving dinner was eat during 
a halt near Richardsville; and though it consisted 
only of the plain fare Uncle Sam furnishes his 



SOUTH OF THE RAPIBAN. 



305 



men when on a march, it was with a relish, and, 
let us hope, with becoming thankfulness. It 
was dark before we reached the Eapidan River. 
Pontoon bridges were at once constructed, and 
the corps crossed to the opposite hights recently 
occupied by the enemy. The bivouac of the 
Eleventh is near the Culpeper gold mines. The 
hour is one for thought and reflection. We are 
further advanced in this direction than any of 
the infantry troops have yet marched. If the 
movement proves a success, all will be well ; if it 
should result in failure, it may be a great ca- 
lamity. The men are in good spirits, and en- 
thusiastically cheered the dispatch received from 
army headquarters that Grant had gained a de- 
cisive victory over Bragg. 

Friday, November 27. — The march was re- 
sumed this morning at live o'clock, over a coun- 
try entirely unknown, whose hills and ravines 
had never before been pressed by such an army. 
In two hours we struck the Germania and Fred- 
ericksburg road. Our movements became more 
cautious as we were advancing through the 
dreary and uncertain region of the Wilderness. 
Scarcely had we entered its thick growth of 
dwarfed oak, when far to our right was heard 
the slow and measured reports of artillery. We 
knew they were signal guns, and that however 
Meade might have deceived the enemy in the 
crossing, his presence south of the Rapidan was 
26* 



306 STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 

fully known. Pursuing tlie Fredericksburg road 
within five miles of Chancellorville, the Elev- 
enth halted in front of the Wilderness Tavern^ 
a tall frame building, and one of the bygone ce- 
lebrities of this remarkable country. There was 
some confusion in front, a part of the ambulance 
train of the Second Corps having been decoyed 
from the right road, and two or three of the 
drivers murdered, l^ear the tavern is the resi- 
dence of Major Yincent of the rebel army. To 
this house Stonewall Jackson was conveyed after 
the battle of Chancellorville. Some distance 
beyond we left the old turnpike and marched 
along the Orange and Fredericksburg plank- 
road. We are now halted at Parker's store, 
where the whole corps is concentrated on the 
extreme left of the army. There must have 
been severe fighting by some of our forces dur- 
ing the afternoon. It is nearly dark, but from 
the direction of the river every once and again 
comes the sound of cannon. 

Saturday, ITovember 28. — Two hours after 
dark last night Robinson's Division, following the 
Orange plank-road half a mile beyond Parker's 
store, turned abruptly to the right into a narrow 
country road, leading through a thick forest. The 
march was continued for more than an hour, 
when we halted at the junction of a broader and 
more clearly defined highway. The division was 
formed in line of battle, with the Eleventh on 



IN POSITION ON MINE RUN. 



307 



the right. Colonel," said General Eobinson, 
^'tell your men that the Second Corps is on the 
left, and the Fifth Corps in front. Instruct the 
pickets not to fire without first giving the chal- 
lenge." The night passed without alarm, and at 
daylight this morning the division, continuing its 
march through the woods, was massed with the 
rest of the First Corps near Robertson's tavern, 
on the old Orange turnpike. Two hours later a 
general advance was ordered. The army is now 
in position along Mine Run. Colonel Coulter is 
in command of the division reserve, consisting 
of the Mnetieth Pennsylvania, Sixteenth Maine, 
and Twelfth Massachusetts, leaving the command 
of the Eleventh to Major Keenan. The enemy's 
pickets occupy an opposite crest of hills, so sin- 
gularly shaped as to make them look like the 
angles of a fort, while between us and them is a 
low marshy ravine, through which Mine Run 
flows to the Rapidan. Heavy skirmishing has 
been going on all day, and there is every appear- 
ance of another Sunday battle. A cold drizzling 
rain has been falling for several hours, making 
us fearful of the eftect it may have on these 
Virginia roads. 

An incident occurred this morning which 
clearly shows the vigilance of the troops here 
marshaled. Shortly after the Eleventh had taken 
its position on the extreme left of the line, a body 
of skirmishers was seen advancing across the 



308 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



fields. The rainy weather made the atmosphere 
dull and hazy, and for a time it was doubtful 
whether they were friends or foes. The skirm- 
ishers finally halted, and an ofiicer came within 
speaking distance. "Who are you?" ^' First 
Corps," was the reply. "Who are you?'' "Fifth 
Corps.^' " All right," said Major Keenan, "come 
on." Assured that there was no deception, the 
officer advanced, saluted the major, and informed 
him that the Fifth Corps was approaching to 
form on the left of the First Corps. 

Sunday, ^^'ovember 29. — Although there has 
been considerable activity in the shifting of divi- 
sions and brigades, no change has been made in 
our battle-line, nor has there been any general ad- 
vance upon the works of the enemy. The Elev- 
enth has been on picket duty out in front of the 
lines since early this morning, meeting with no 
other casualties than private Swartz, slightly 
wounded. This evening the Eleventh was added 
to the division reserve. 

Monday, ITovember 80. — Marchingfrom our po- 
sition on the left, the division formed in line to the 
right of the Orange pike. Later in the day Gren- 
eral Robinson was directed to advance his pickets 
across a small stream (a branch of Mine Run) di- 
rectly in front, and build two bridges for the 
passage of artillery and troops in column. A 
small force of the enemy occupied the overlook- 
ing crest, and though they stubbornly resisted, a 



IN POSITION ON MINE RUN. 



309 



detachment of the ^TiDety-fourth 'New York drove 
them away. Large working parties are now en- 
gaged constructing the bridges. 

Back at the hospital, the day has been one of 
suspense and anxiety. Several times reports came 
to the rear that the troops were in the act of at- 
tacking the rebel fortifications, and from the po- 
sition the enemy occupies, fearful losses were 
anticipated. There is more news here than reaches 
the front. This hospital, from its location, hap- 
pens to be the rendezvous of the newspaper re- 
porters, and already the gentlemen of the press 
are predicting a retrograde move on the part 
of Meade. The fight of the Third Corps, 
Friday afternoon, with a part of Ewell's forces, 
not only delayed the Second Corps in its march 
to occupy the interval between Hill and Ewell, 
but revealed the point of Meade's strategy. Fall- 
ing back from the commanding position at Ro- 
bertson's tavern to that of Mine Eun, by Satur- 
day morning the breach in the rebel line was 
closed, and whatever we do now must be done 
against a force quite as large as our own. 

General Warren marched to-day to the extreme 
left of the line, and will attack the rebel right 
to-morrow morning. The weather has grown 
intensely cold, causing much suffering among the 
troops, especially to those on the picket line, 
where not a spark of fire is allowed to be kindled. 
Three men of the last relief were frozen to death 
at their posts. 



310 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Tuesday, December 1. — Last night General Ro- 
binson was ordered to suspend all operations on the 
bridges in front of his line, and to withdraw the 
pickets across the run. From early morning until 
this hour (noon) the men have been waiting in 
battle-line for the sound of Warren's guns on the 
left as the signal of a general charge. Not a 
sound, not even the crack of a rifle has been 
heard in that direction. Something has gone 
wrong, too late to be corrected. The men are 
nearly out of rations, and our supply trains are 
on the other side of the Rapidan. In another 
day we must either go back for supplies, or the 
trains must be moved to the front. The former 
is far more likely, in the present precarious state 
of the weather, than the latter. 

Four o'clock p.m. — The First Corps is ordered 
to march, by way of Robertson's tavern, to Ger- 
mania Ford. 

JS'oRTH SIDE Rappahannock, near Kelly's Ford, 
December 3. — One week ago the grand move- 
ment of the Army of the Potomac was inaugu- 
rated. This evening we are back within a few 
miles of the starting-point However much was 
intended, very little in fact hasbeen accomplished. 
My last entry was on Tuesday afternoon, at 
the moment the corps began its move for the 
river. We bivouacked at midnight overlooking 
Germania Mills, crossed the Rapidan at daylight 
Wednesday, and took position to cover the cross- 



MINE RUN ABANDONED. 



311 



ing of the Fiftli and Sixth Corps. The division 
remained at the ford until noon of Wednesday, 
when we marched to Stevensburg. 

The rations of the men were entirely consumed, 
and every haversack was empty. "Twenty-five 
cents for a hard tack," was the offer made after 
the first hour's march. "Fifty cents for a hard 
tack," became the cry as the march continued. 
"One dollar for a hard tack," but even that 
did not bring it at the hour of bivouac. The 
time was in the memory of some of those same 
men, who now clamored so loud for hard tack, 
when the commissary of Camp Wayne was 
treated to a shower of the vilest epithets for 
offering them such fare. "Soft bread! soft 
bread!" was then the cry. The crackers strung 
upon a rope, and with which they garlanded the 
neck of his horse, and at last the neck of the 
commissary, was their estimate then of that for 
which they now clamored so furiously. The 
officers were in the same hungry plight as the 
men. Imagine the headquarter's mess of the 
Eleventh, composed of a colonel, a major, two 
doctors, and a chaplain, sitting down on the 
ground, ten o'clock at night, to a supper made 
up of one dish only — a plate of fried liver. But 
we were better off than brigade headquarters. 
Their last meal was taken in the morning, and 
consisted of stewed dried apples. 

Even the brigade commissary was on short 



312 



STOKY OF THE REGIMENT. 



allowance, as the novel mode to which he re- 
sorted to supply himself will fully attest. Rid- 
ing off some distance from the troops to a fine- 
looking residence, he represented himself to the 
family as an officer of Stuart's cavalry, disguised 
in Yankee uniform, the better to watch the 
movements of the Yankee army. Without a 
question, he was taken into their confidence. 
All the information they had was readily com- 
municated; and, better still for the captain, pre- 
parations were at once made for dinner. An 
old colored woman, who overheard the conver- 
sation, unperceived by the family started off' in 
all haste for the nearest body of soldiers. She 
was not long in finding some one to listen to her 
story, and a lieutenant and a squad of men were 
dispatched to make the arrest. The squad ar- 
rived at the house as the officer was sitting down 
to the table. Expostulation was useless. They 
had no time for delay, and he yielded himself a 
prisoner to the guard. Taken belore the corps 
commander, of course he was recognized as 
Captain Bucklin, Commissary of the Second 
Brigade; but it was Captain Bucklin without 
his dinner. 

This morning, before the march was con- 
tinued, a ration of fresh beef was issued, and in 
the strength of that one meal the men journeyed 
to our present halting-place. An hour ago the 
wagons came up with full supplies. There is 



CAMP NEAK Kelly's foed. 



313 



just now a savory smell throughout the camp of 
broiling beef and boiling coffee, by no means 
unpleasant to the olfactory nerves, as the hos- 
pital steward likes to say. 

South Side Kappahannock, December 4. — Un- 
expectedly to all, the first sound that disturbed 
our camp this morning was the bugle note to pack 
up. We were again to cross the Rappahannock. 
Last evening, hungry, tired, and cold, the men 
waded three feet deep to the north bank. To 
be called upon so soon to repeat the cool opera- 
tion, was well calculated to ruffle the not very 
even temper of the soldier; and terrible male- 
dictions were called down on the heads of all in 
authority. But it must be confessed that there 
was less grumbling to-day than last night — the 
difference, possibly, between stomachs full and 
stomachs empty. 

Tuesday, December 8. — Without waiting for 
orders, the men have gone into winter quarters. 
Substantial log-cabins, with fire-places and chim- 
neys, have been constructed by all the compa- 
nies. At headquarters we have our wall tents, 
but no fire-places. The fire is on the outside, 
and a picture of our present home would show 
to good effect. About a mile from the Rappa- 
hannock, and within a few yards of the road 
leading from Kelly's Ford to Stevensburg, would 
be seen four tents, two on a line, and one on 
each flank, facing inward. Between the tents 
21 



314 



STORY OF THE EEGIMENT. 



and the road is a fence of pine boughs; on the 
other side of the road are the quarters of the 
men. The fire that burns night and day in 
front of the tents deserves to be noticed because 
of its royal back log, ten feet long and three 
feet in diameter, the contribution of a noble old 
white oak tree that has lived in these forests 
since the days when the red man claimed them 
as his own. 



CHAPTER X. 

ANOTHER CAMPAIGN COMPLETED. 



The advance on Mine Run completed another 
campaign of the war. The operations of the 
year had been on a scale of vast magnitude. 
Beginning at Chancellorville, seven months be- 
fore, they had extended twice across Virginia, 
through a large part of Maryland, into the inte- 
rior of Pennsylvania, and back again within a 
day's march of the place of commencement. 
But in its bearing upon the great issue — the 
destruction of the rebel army — it was easy to 
see, looking out from our winter quarters on the 
Rappahannock, that the campaign had not ful- 
filled all its promises. 



THE FAITH OF THE ARMY. 



315 



It must be said, however, that a better sphnt 
prevailed throughout the army at the close of 
this campaign than had marked the close of the 
last. There had been, during the year, a grad- 
ual dying out of the ruinous partisan spirit once 
so prevalent. Without losing the least respect 
for the genius and ability necessary to command 
the army, each man had more respect for his 
own well-performed duties. The lesson had at 
last been learned that the strength of the army 
was not in McClellan, or Burnside, or Hooker, 
or Meade, but in the intelligent patriotism of 
the rank and file. 

There was also to be noticed an increasing 
confidence in the integrity of the government, 
and in the justice and humanity of those princi- 
ples lying at the base of the great conflict. The 
prophetic spirit of that strangely popular song, 

"John Brown's body lies mouldering in the grave, 
But his soul is marching on," 

now sung more than ever, possessed every heart; 
and though it might seem a long and wearisome 
way to the end, the ultimate triumph of the na- 
tional cause was the accepted faith of the army. 

The troops once in winter quarters, no further 
general movement could be expected before the 
beginning of May — five months in the future. 
But with that very month would commence the 
expiration of the term of enlistment of a large 



316 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



proportion of the old regiments, and before the 
next spring campaign fairly opened, the govern- 
ment would lose one-half of its most available 
force. It was well for the nation that the patri- 
otism of the army was equal to the emergency; 
and when those men were asked to re-enlist for a 
second term of three years, if, in yielding to the 
request, there was less enthusiasm manifested 
than at the first enlistment, the veteran volun- 
teer proved that he had lost none of his devotion 
to country. 

It was provided, in addition to the liberal 
bounties that a generous people could well afford 
to pay to their noble defenders, that each veteran 
volunteer should be granted thirty-five days' fur- 
lough; and that where three-fourths of a regi- 
ment re-enlisted, such portion of the regiment 
should go home in a body, taking with it arms 
and equipments. The gallant old Eleventh was 
among the first of the Pennsylvania regiments 
to answer this new call of the government, just 
as it had been among the first to answer the na- 
tion's call at the end of the three months' cam- 
paign. 

During the three weeks that intervened be- 
tween the inception of this third term of service 
on the part of the Eleventh, and its entire com- 
pletion, in the shiftings of the several corps, and 
the changing of the picket lines, marching from 
Kelly's Ford to Culpeper, and from thence to 



THE VETERAN FURLOUGH. 



317 



Mitchell's Station, early in January the regi- 
ment encamped on Cedar Mountain. We were 
again upon our first battle-field ; the circle was 
now complete, and from that field, after spend- 
ing a few days at Culpeper, it was proper that 
the Eleventh Regiment should take cars, on the 
5th of February, for Alexandria. 

Five days later the regiment was in Camp 
Curtin, Harrisburg. From that point the men 
separated, in companies, and in squads, and 
singly, to meet again at the end of the veteran 
furlough. 



27* 



VIII. 



CHAPTER I. 

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL V. S. GRANT. 

Old Time, unaffected by the joyous meeting of 
long absent friends, and heedless of the fresh 
griefs to be experienced at another parting, 
abating nothing of his rapid flight, hurried away 
through February and March at his usual gait. 

The veteran furlough ended, the Eleventh 
once more rendezvoused at Camp Curtin. From 
thence over the familiar route through Balti- 
more, Washington, and Alexandria, and along 
the Orange Railroad by the old camping grounds 
of Manassas, Bristow, Rappahannock and Brandy 
Station, on the last day of March, after an ab- 
sence of fi.fty days, the regiment rejoined Bax- 
ter's Brigade at Culpeper. 

During the several weeks of our ^Torthern so- 
journ a large number of recruits had been added 
to the regiment, which now, in dimensions, looked 
somewhat like its former self, numbering over 
five hundred men present for duty. Many va- 
cancies were filled among the commissioned 
(318) 



PROMOTIONS IN THE ELEVENTH. 319 



officers, and such a general reorganization ef- 
fected as told favorably in the subsequent cam- 
paigns. 

Lieutenant Absalom Schall was promoted to 
be captain of Co. C, vice Captain Jacob J. Bierer, 
honorably discharged ; Lieutenant James Chal- 
fant, captain of Co. F, vice Captain E. H. G-ay, 
deceased; Lieutenant Andrew G-. Happer, cap- 
tain of Co. I, vice Captain Thomas, mustered out 
of service ; Jesse Lauffer, captain of Co. K, vice 
Captain John Read, killed at Antietam ; Lieu- 
tenant John P. Straw, first lieutenant of Co. B, 
vice Lieutenant George Tapp, discharged on ac- 
count of wounds ; Sergeant Enos E. Hall, first 
lieutenant of Co. D, vice Lieutenant Chalfant, 
promoted; Lieutenant Samuel J. Hamill, first 
lieutenant of Co. E, vice Lieutenant Piper, pro- 
moted ; Lieutenant Robert Anderson, first lieu- 
tenant of Co. F, vice Lieutenant Kettering, dis- 
charged; Lieut. W. A. Shrum, first lieutenant 
of Co. I, vice Lieutenant Painter, discharged ; 
Quartermaster Sergeant Samuel W. Phillips, 
second lieutenant of Co. B, vice Lieutenant 
Straw, promoted ; Sergeant James Moore, second 
lieutenant of Co. D, vice Lieutenant Cross, dis- 
charged; Hospital Steward James J. Briggs, 
second lieutenant of Co. E, vice Lieutenant Ha- 
mill, promoted ; Sergeant Samuel McCutcheon, 
second lieutenant of Co. F, vice Lieutenant An- 
derson, promoted; John Brenneman, second 



320 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



lieutenant of Co. Gr, vice Lieutenant Liedtke, 
discharged. 

While the Eleventh was enjoying its well- 
earned rest from active duties in the field, and 
thus preparing for the future, great and import- 
ant changes, materially affecting the army, were 
taking place at Washington. General U. S. Grant 
had been confirmed Lieutenant-General, and was 
invested by the President with the chief com- 
mand of all the national forces. 

To those who had known of the petty jeal- 
ousies and personal ambitious aspirations, often 
interfering with the wisest plans, and threatening 
the most fatal consequences to the army and the 
country, the revival of the rank of Lieutenant- 
General, that placed Grant over all other gen- 
erals, and out of the reach of envy or inter- 
ference, was accepted as an assurance that the 
same spirit which had induced more than three- 
fourths of the army to re-enlist for the suppres- 
sion of the rebellion pervaded every department 
of the nation. 

Three days before the Eleventh returned to 
the front. General Grant established his head- 
quarters with the Army of the Potomac at Cul- 
peper, and the work of getting ready for the 
spring campaign was at once commenced. Speed- 
ily armed and equipped, the new recruits were 
drilled four to six hours each day, making such 
proficiency in the manual of arms, and in the 



A FAREWELL TO THE FIRST CORPS. 321 

various evolutions of regiment, brigade, and di- 
vision, that by the time the spring suns had 
dried up the roads, recruits and veterans were 
one in everything except the actual experience 
of the battle-field. 

Instead of the five corps with w^hich General 
Meade had conducted the latter movements of 
his last campaign, the army was consolidated into 
three corps — the Second, Fifth, and Sixth — com- 
manded respectively by Hancock, Warren, and 
Sedgwick. In this new organization the old 
First Corps was merged into the Fifth Corps, of 
which Wadsworth's Division was the first, Ro- 
binson's Division the second, Crawford's Division 
the third, and Grifiin's Division the fourth. Re- 
tiring from the command of the First Corps, with 
which he had been associated since the death of 
the lamented Reynolds, General ITewton ex- 
pressed his regrets in an eloquent farewell ad- 
dress, in which the former services of the men 
were acknowledged and appreciated : 

''In relinquishing command, I take occasion to 
express the pride and pleasure I have experienced 
in my connection with you, and my profound 
regret at our separation. Identified by its ser- 
vices with the history of the war, the First Corps 
gave at Gettysburg a crowning proof of valor 
and endurance in saving from the grasp of the 
enemy the strong position upon which the battle 
was fought. The terrible losses suffered by the 



322 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



corps in that conflict attest its supreme devotion 
to the country. Though the corps has lost its 
distinctive name by the present changes, history 
will not be silent upon the magnitude of its ser- 
vices." 

In all this new-modeling and reorganizing of 
his forces, General Grant had not overestimated 
the prowess of his antagonist. The army of 
General Lee, composed of the Corps of Ewell, 
Hill, and Longstreet — the latter just returned 
from Tennessee — lay along and near the south 
bank of the Eapidan, with its flanks well pro- 
tected by the natural defenses of the country, 
and its front secured by strong artificial intrench- 
ments. The Federal commander could discover 
no secret or untried route leading to Richmond. 
The opposing armies were to meet somewhere, as 
they had often met before, and the result of the 
campaign, as seen from the beginning, was a 
question of martial endurance. 

The stirring address of General Meade, issued 
on the 3d of May, was followed by the bugle 
note to march. At midnight the Fifth Corps was 
leading the army over the Stevensburg pike 
toward the Rapidan. The Sixth Corps followed 
after the Fifth; while the Second Corps, keeping 
down the north bank to Ely's Ford, was intended 
to strike the plank-road near Chancellorville, 
each corps commander hoping to evade an en- 
gagement in the forlorn region of the "Wilder- 
ness. 



THE SPRING CAMPAIGN BEGUN. 323 

Crossing the river at Germania Ford, and 
marching two or three miles toward the Wilder- 
ness Tavern, five o'clock p. m. the Fifth Corps 
halted for the night, the Eleventh bivouacking 
in an open field, and furnishing the picket de- 
tail for the brigade. To our right, and some- 
times apparently in front, during most of the 
night, dull rumbling sounds were heard, such as 
indicated that the enemy, too, was moving. Five 
o'clock next morning the march was resumed, 
carrying us out to the old turnpike, in sight of 
the Wilderness Tavern. With ever}^ passing mo- 
ment it became apparent that our further pro- 
gress was to be contested. 

General Lee, ever watchful, and tracing in the 
outlines of the opening campaign the energy of 
the new commander, was coming against Grant 
in two columns, one along the Orange turnpike, 
and the other by way of the Fredericksburg and 
Orange plank-road. The rebel general was in- 
tent on accomplishing what Grant was manoeu- 
vring to avoid, — to intercept our southward 
march, and, by striking his blows on the flank, 
entangle the Federal army in the Wilderness. 

The advance division of Ewell's Corps, that 
reached Parker's store, immediately in front of 
Warren's left, was the first to become engaged 
with parts of the First and Fourth Divisions. 
The Fifth Corps, halting all its regiments, and 
concentrating on the turnpike, prepared for a 



324 



STORY OF THE EEGIMENT. 



vigorous defense. The Sixth Corps was hurried 
to its place on the right, and the Second Corps, 
marching rapidly along the Chancellorville plank- 
road, hastened to extend our position on the left. 

Sights not strange to the veteran soldier, but 
new and exciting to the recruit, were now to be 
witnessed. Divisions and brigades, advancing at 
a double-quick, were forming in line of battle, or 
massing in reserve. Hundreds of pioneers, with 
axes and shovels, were felling trees and throwing 
up earthworks, behind which scores of cannon, 
unlimbered and charged with shot, presented a 
threatening array. 

The first attack of the Fifth Corps, led on by 
Wads worth and Griffin, drove Ewell from all his 
positions, and far 'in from our front. But meet- 
ing heavy rebel reinforcements, by a sudden turn 
the enemy rallied, and Wadsworth and Griffin 
were compelled to give way to the enemy. 
Baxter's Brigade, with the Eleventh in front, 
marched in quick time to the extreme left at the 
moment to support the wavering lines of the 
two divisions, and hold in check the advancing 
rebels. 

The storm of battle had again broken out in 
the Wilderness, and was sweeping along the 
lines with increasing fury. Lee's intention was 
now more apparent than ever. It was to turn 
Warren's flank before Hancock, who was march- 
ing from Chancellorville, could come to his 



BATTLE OF THE WILDERNESS. 



325 



relief. He "had so far succeeded in his design 
that Hill's Corps, overlapping Warren, was al- 
ready confronting a part of Hancock's lines, 
vainly endeavoring to force him back to the 
river. 

Baxter's Brigade was again ordered to the left, 
and together with Griffin's Division, marched to 
the support of Hancock. 

It was six o'clock in the evening, and the 
dense undergrowth through which the troops 
had to feel their way made it prematurely night. 
The Eleventh, marching by the flank, soon en- 
gaged the enemy's skirmishers, keeping up a 
brisk fire until total darkness ended thie contest. 
Uniting with Hancock, and throwing out a strong 
line of pickets, the position was maintained until 
the morning of the 6th of May. 

^ At the close of the first day's fight the line of 
the Federal army extended along the Germania 
Ford and Chancellorville road, with the right 
near the river, and the left near the Brock road 
leading to Spottsylvania. During the night it 
was determined to make a simultaneous attack 
on the enemy's left by Sedgwick, and on his 
right by Hancock. Shortly after daylight Han- 
cock's advance was undertaken by the Fourth 
Division of the Fifth Corps and Baxter's Bri- 
gade. It was a bright May morning, and as 
the troops marched through the thick growth 
of hazel, the rays of the sun, that here and 
28 



326 



STOEY OF THE REGIMENT. 



there penetrated the deep shade of the Wilder- 
ness, were reflected as well from the unsheathed 
swords of the officers as from the muskets of 
the men. 

The first shock of battle fell unexpectedly on 
the enemy, causing his lines to give way in rout 
and confusion. 'No time was lost by Hancock 
in following up so great an advantage, and occu- 
pying either side of the plank-road with his 
forces, the men pushed steadily onward. In 
that gallant advance General Baxter was se- 
verely wounded and taken from the field, leav- 
ing the commancj of the brigade to Colonel 
Coulter, and the command of the Eleventh to 
Major Keenan. 

Quick to see the danger that threatened his 
right flank by Hancock's valorous assault, Gen- 
eral Lee hurried forward the troops of Long- 
street's Corps, then arriving on the ground, and 
placing himself at the head of one of the bri- 
gades, dashed forward into the wide and extend- 
ing breach in his lines. 

It was not a broad, open country in which the 
men were fighting, where the movements of the 
enemy could be seen and promptly met by coun- 
ter movements. But every one knew from the 
galling fire poured in that the enemy, reinforced, 
was assuming other and more advantageous po- 
sitions. Presently the whole front lighted up 
with deadly volleys, and coming down on our 



longstreet's attack on the left. 327 

first lines with the force of an avalanche, the di- 
visions of Longstreet swept Hancock back over 
the ground taken from Hill, across the plank- 
road, and to the shelter of the shallow earth- 
works that the troops had left in the morning. 

Sedgwick on the right, at the instant of mov- 
ing out his lines, received the advance of Ewell, 
who had anticipated the Federal attack. After a 
fierce conflict, repulsed at every point, the rebel 
general slowly retired. Several hours later, 
coming once more against Sedgwick, the whole 
Sixth Corps was thrown forward, driving Ewell 
far back in the Wilderness, and firmly holding 
the ground thus won. 

It was now noon; and from right to left there 
was a lull in the battle. Each army, half ex- 
hausted, as if by common consent was reposing 
a moment to gather new strength for a more de- 
cisive blow. Four o'clock p.m. there came a 
sharp rattling of musketry and a quick succes- 
sion of artillery reports from the left of the lines. 
It was quiet no longer. Longstreet had again 
moved up to assault Hancock in the most fear- 
ful attack of the day, and made with a vehe- 
mence that threatened to ruin our left and drive 
us into the Rapidan. 

But foreseeing where the blow would fall, the 
left had been strongly reinforced by Gibbon s's 
Division, to whom Colonel Coulter was ordered 
to report his brigade. The charge of the rebels, 



328 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



though at first successful, met by the timel}'' ar- 
rival of Gibbons, was handsomely checked, and 
the enemy at last forced back across the Brock 
road. Foiled a second time in his attempt to 
turn our flank, and in each instance suffering 
severely in killed and wounded, Longstreet with- 
drew, and, to all appearances, the second day's 
fight in the Wilderness was over. 

General Lee had promised to drive Grant 
across the Rapidan in three days. The advan- 
tage of the fighting thus far had been with 
neither arm}^; but to accomplish his undertaking 
the rebel general saw how much still remained 
to be done, and in the very last hour of day, 
while many a soldier was looking forward to a 
night of rest for weary and aching limbs, the 
battle broke out afresh far to the right. 

With all the stealth and qniet with which the 
twilight was coming, a heavy rebel column, 
moving out from behind its intrenchments, fell 
upon Ricketts's Division, holding the right flank 
of the Sixth Corps. Impetuous and sudden, the 
enemy's assault was successful, completely turn- 
ing our flank and cutting us oft' from Germania 
Ford; and but for the promptness of officers and 
men, might have crowned the day with irretriev- 
able disaster. But fresh troops strengthened the 
yielding line, until the enemy, first completely 
checked, and then put on the defensive, gave up 
the contest. 



REBEL SUCCESSES ON THE RIGHT. 329 



Colonel Coulter's Brigade, a short time before 
united to the division, from which it had been 
separated for nearly two days, at the beginning 
of the last attack was ordered into position on 
the plank-road, in rear of army headquarters. It 
was the direction in which the rebels were bear- 
ing down with such frightful rapidity, until ar- 
rested further toward the front. 

The Federal battle-line, after two days of wave- 
like advancing and receding, excepting that the 
right was thrown somewhat back, occupied the 
same ground on which the conflict had begun. 
There was no difliculty in tracing that line 
through the most intricate and deeply-tangled 
portions of the battle-field. It was not the marks 
of blood only that guided us over those six miles 
from^left to right, but a line of prostrated human 
forms, here dead, and there dying ; here still and 
uncomplaining, and there wild with the delirium 
of fever and the agony of pain. Scattered all 
along the way, from the Brock road to the Wil- 
derness Tavern, lay one hundred and fifty-seven 
killed and wounded belonging to the Eleventh. 

During the quiet of the early afternoon the 
roads had been given to the ambulance corps 
that came upon the field, rapidly loading up the 
wagons with maimed and bleeding forms. The 
wounded of the Fifth Corps were placed under 
charge of Surgeon An await, with directions to 
cross the Rapidan and proceed to Rappahannock 
28* 



330 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Station, where cars were in waiting to convey 
them to Washington. But before the first car- 
riage of the long line had made half the distance 
to the ford, the rebel assault on the right cut us 
ofiT from the river. The confusion was only for 
a moment. 

"Doctor," said an aid-de-camp from General 
Warren, "you are directed to take your wounded 
men to Fredericksburg." 

Turning short in the road, and pushing forward 
as fast as a care for the comfort of the men would 
allow, a little after midnight Fredericksburg re- 
ceived its first installment of wounded from the 
Wilderness battle-field. 

The 7th of May dawned clear and bright. Sev- 
eral hours of undisturbed quiet, in rear of army 
headquarters, prepared the Eleventh and the rest 
of the brigade for a change of position to the 
support of Ricketts's Division on the extreme 
right. A fierce and determined efibrt was to be 
made to retake the ground lost on the previous 
evening ; and as we marched to our place early 
in the morning, batteries were already wheeling 
into line, preparing to open the attack by a 
shower of grape-shot and shell. But when at 
last all was in readiness, and with the first volley 
of our numerous cannon a heavy body of skirm- 
ishers advanced, it was found that we were only 
beating the air. The rebels had retreated from 
our front, and nothing remained but the line of 



RACE FOR SPOTTSYLVANIA. 



331 



rifle-pits from whicli Ricketts had been driven to 
tell the story of their last successful charge. 

Traversing each of the roads leading south- 
ward, the cavalry were employed in developing 
the meaning of General Lee's sudden and unex- 
pected retreat. He had failed to make such an 
impression on the Union lines as in any degree 
to compensate him for his own severe losses, 
and observing the movement of our wagon 
trains and ambulances toward Fredericksburg 
as a new base of supplies, Lee became alarmed 
for the safety of his right flank, and was march- 
ing with all speed to secure the high grounds 
around Spottsylvania Court House. 

In rapid pursuit came the Army of the Poto- 
mac. The Fifth Corps again took the lead, with 
Robinson's Division in front. Filing out from 
the grounds near the Lacey House, and march- 
ing past the Second Corps, ten o'clock p.m. of 
the 7th we struck the Brock road and pushed 
on to Todd's tavern. Few and short were the 
halts of that long night march, that tested to the 
full the endurance of every man. 

Five o'clock of the next morning the division 
was within three miles of Spottsylvania. But 
the enemy moving on a shorter parallel road 
further to the west, with a start of several hours, 
headed us in the exciting race for position. 
Crossing our path was the narrow little river 
ISTy, and in our front, disputing all further pro- 
gress, were the rebel skirmishers. 



332 STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 

Time was now more precious than life; and 
without a moment to refresh themselves after the 
fatigues of a ten hours' march, the division was 
pressed rapidly forward, meeting in what was re- 
ported as only dismounted cavalry. Hood's splen- 
did Division of rehel infantry. In charging over 
the rough and difficult ground, and through Al- 
sop's farm, though many fell out of the ranks 
from utter exhaustion, the troops steadily ad- 
vanced, driving back the enemy's skirmishers 
and pushing on within seventy-five yards of his 
intrenched position. At every step the rebel fire 
was becoming more and more destructive. At 
last it could not be endured, and retiring first to 
the edge of the woods, and then to the rear of 
Alsop's house, temporary defenses were thrown 
up, behind which the troops took shelter. 

General Robinson, while gallantly leading 
the charge across Alsop's fields, was severely 
wounded, and carried from the field, the com- 
mand of the division devolving upon Colonel 
Coulter. "The disabling of General Robinson at 
this juncture was a severe blow to the division, 
and certainly influenced the fortunes of the day. 
The want of our commanding officer prevented 
that concert of action which alone could have 
overcome the enemy in front."* 

But above the loss of General Robinson, the 



* Coulter's Report. 



DEATH OF MAJOR KEENAN. 



333 



Eleventh felt the loss of Major John B. Keenan, 
shot dead at the head of the regiment while by 
word and example he was cheering forward the 
men. Identified with the Eleventh from the 
beginning, and in every time and place display- 
ing all the generous qualities of the true soldier, 
the commanding officer could well say, not only 
for himself, but for the regiment, that " long ac- 
quaintance led to a full appreciation of Major 
Keenan's character. He was brave, cool, and 
courteous, and by his personal exertions and 
bold example nobly sustained his command." 

The rapid arrival of fresh troops enabled us 
to hold the line on Alsop's farm. But when the 
day closed Robinson's Division was nearly with- 
out an organization. In three days it had lost 
General Robinson, all of its brigade commanders, 
and not less than two thousand officers and men. 
What still remained of it was temporarily at- 
tached to the other divisions of the corps. The 
Eirst Brigade, Colonel Lyle, was transferred to 
the Eourth Division; the Second Brigade, 
Colonel Coulter, to Crawford's (Third) Division; 
the Third Brigade, Colonel Bowman, was re- 
tained by General Warren under his own super- 
vision. 



334 



STORY OF THE EEGIMENT. 



CHAPTER II. 

IN FRONT OP SPOTTSYLVANIA. 

I^EAR Laurel Hill, Monday, May 9. — The 
remainder of yesterday, until eight o'clock p.m., 
was spent in strengthening our intrenchrnents 
near the Alsop mansion. Then the Eleventh 
was ordered some distance further to the right, 
passing the rest of the night and until noon of 
to-day in erecting defenses in front of the new 
position. This afternoon Rohinson's Division 
was broken up, and the brigade reported to 
General Crawford, of the Third Division, near 
Laurel Hill. "We were at once placed on the 
right of the line, the Eleventh (under command 
of Capt. B. F. Haines) connecting on the left 
with the Pennsylvania Reserves. The Fifth 
Corps is now in the center, with the Second on 
the right and the Sixth on the left. The enemy 
holds strong and solid intrenchrnents just over 
against us, that can only be taken by the most 
determined valor. 

Tuesday, May 10. — Our men bivouacked last 
night behind a range of formidable breastworks ; 
and but for the active preparations going on 
around us, all pointing to an early attack on the 



THE ELEVENTH ON LAUREL HILL. 335 

enemy's lines, we might have slept in undis- 
turbed security. When the order came this 
morning for a general assault along the whole 
front of the Fifth and Sixth Corps, there was a 
determined expression on the face of every man, 
answering to the desperate work before him. 

"You will advance .your entire brigade in 
support of the line of skirmishers, and carry the 
rifle-pits now in front. Go on until you come 
upon the enemy's intrenchments, and hold on 
firmly to all you get. Take the first line of rifle- 
pits at all hazards." 

There was no mistaking these orders sent 
from General Crawford to Colonel Coulter. 
Throwing out the Mnety-seventh 'New York as 
skirmishers, and placing the Eighty-third 'New 
York and Eleventh Pennsylvania on the left of 
the line, the Eighty-eighth Pennsylvania and 
Twelfth Massachusetts on the right, and form- 
ing the left wing of each regiment in rear of the 
right wing, the two lines of the brigade moved 
out to the attack. 

The first forward step developed the well- 
directed fire of the enemy, but through a shower 
of bullets, for more than a quarter of a mile, the 
forward step was maintained. Still moving on 
up the slope of Laurel Hill, the summit was at 
last gained, and the line of rifle-pits that crowned 
its crest gallantly carried. Beyond a reach of 
broad open ground were now to be seen exten- 



336 



STORY OF THE REGIMEXT. 



sive earthworks filled with artillery. Advancing 
within a hundred yards of these intrenchments 
all further progress was impossible. The troops 
had fought their way to that point, not with en- 
thusiastic cheers, but with steady and persistent 
determination. Colonel Coulter reported to 
General Crawford that he had taken the rifle- 
pits of the enemy, but could go no further. 

"Tell the colonel to hold the line where he 
is," was the reply. 

And though the rebel artillery swept the area 
in our front, and a severe musketry fire was 
concentrated upon the men, the line was held 
from noon until five o'clock. Two brigades of 
Gibbons's Division, Second Corps, then came to 
our relief, and Coulter's Brigade retired twenty 
or thirty yards to the rear. With the line thus 
reinforced, an hour later there was a second at- 
tempt to carry the enemy's position ; but no ad- 
vance could be made beyond the ground already 
secured. At dusk the Pennsylvania Reserves 
were sent to the right of Gibbons, and Coulter's 
Brigade ordered back within the breastworks, 
where we are at present resting. When we 
marched out from these defenses this morning 
the brigade numbered nine hundred men. Two 
hundred and twenty-nine have been killed and 
wounded in the narrow space in our front of less 
than half a mile. 

Thursday, May 12. — Another unsuccessful 



THE ELEVENTH ON LAUREL HILL. 



337 



attempt lias been made to dislodge the enemy 
from Laurel Hill. Yesterday and last night 
were occupied in remodeling and extending our 
defenses. After dark, in the midst of a heavy 
rain-storm, the Second Corps commenced mov- 
ing toward the left, leaving our brigade on the 
extreme right flank. This morning dawned 
with fierce fighting in front of Spottsylvania, 
the roar of musketry passing slowly from left 
to right until every part of the line was engaged. 
At the hight of the battle, Coulter's Brigade 
was ordered to the support of the Pennsylvania 
Eeserves, who were seen a moment before 
to pass over the intrenchments to attack the 
rebels in front. The Eeserves hardly reached 
the crest of the hill until the same staggering 
fire that told so fearfully upon our ranks on the 
morning of the 10th, was again experienced. 
The enemy was as strong and watchful as ever. 
Following after the first line, and a little to the 
right of its former position, the brigade ad- 
vanced a short distance beyond the Reserves, 
the men protecting themselves from the rebel 
fire by the peculiar formation of the ground. 
Toward noon we were again withdrawn to the 
intrenchments, but leaving behind on that fatal 
hill, as an additional sacrifice to its evil genius, 
seventy-five men. 

Saturday, May 14. — The uncertainty hanging- 
over all our movements since we crossed the 
29 



338 



STORY OF THE EEGIMENT. 



RapidaD, and which has been a serious check to 
the esprit de corps of the army, begins to clear 
away. The troops had not ceased cheering over 
Hancock's successes on the left, in capturing 
Johnson's entire Division, when Grant's dis- 
patch to the Secretary of War, in which he pro- 
poses to "tight it out on this line if it takes all 
summer," aroused them to the highest pitch of 
enthusiasm. ITow we have the congratulatory 
order of General Meade, stating in brief what 
has already been done, and what there remains 
yet to do. On the heels of this comes a rumor 
that Sheridan's cavalry is operating in rear of 
the rebel lines, tearing up the railroads and 
burning depots of supplies. But these successes 
do not make us insensible of our own great 
losses. The Fifth Corps, as it is now seen, 
looks scarcely larger than did Robinson's Divi- 
sion ten days ago. 

Since crossing the Rapidan we have lost Gen- 
erals Hays, Wadsworth, Sedgwick, Stevenson, 
and Rice. A Pennsylvanian and a resident of 
Pittsburg, General Alex. Hays was a personal 
friend of the officers of the Eleventh, admired 
by all as a brave and accomplished soldier. At 
Mine Run, as the troops were in line of battle, 
awaiting the word to charge the enemy's works, 
the general remarked: "I don't like the look 
of things around here. This is the only place 
in Virginia where I have not wanted to fight." 



MOVING TO THE LEFT. 



339 



It is not a little sin ovular that he should have 
met his death so near that same locality. The 
rebels have lost G-enerals Jenkins, Jones, Gor- 
don, and Perrin. Longstreet was severely 
wounded on the evening of the 6th; and it is 
rumored that J. E. B. Stuart was killed in a 
fight with Sheridan. There is a spirit of hope- 
fulness throughout our ranks that will carry the 
men along with their indomitable leader. 

I^EAR Spottsylvania, May 16. — Leaving the 
Twelfth Massachusetts and Eleventh Pennsyl- 
vania on the picket line in front of Laurel Hill, 
the rest of the brigade, following in the wake of 
the division, on the evening of the 14th moved 
toward the left. It was a dark, rainy night, and 
the muddy roads and swollen streams made the 
march full of weariness to men already worn 
down with incessant labors. Yesterday after- 
noon, the two regiments left on picket having 
rejoined the brigade, we were placed in position 
near the Anderson House, holding now the ex- 
treme left of the army, as we formerly held the 
extreme right. It is a relief to know that we 
are quite out of the Wilderness; but the ground 
in front is rough and uneven, covered with a 
heavy growth of timber. On every command- 
ing position is a rebel fortification, from which 
defiantly floats the Confederate flag. 

Thursday, May 19. — During the last three 
days the lines of the army have been several 



340 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



times changed to meet the impetuous assaults 
of the rebels, who seem stung to the quick by 
operations in their front and rear. Tuesday af- 
ternoon the brigade crossed the River l!^^y, and 
moved up nearer Spottsylvania, taking position 
to the left of the First Division, and in support 
of Cooper's Pennsylvania Battery. All night 
long the men worked with pick and shovel — 
tools with whose use they have grown familiar 
— intrenching themselves on their new ground. 
It was a wise precaution ; for with the morning 
of the 18th the rebels opened a heavy cannon- 
ade. But the shells buried themselves in the 
newly constructed sand-banks, or harmlessly 
ricochetted from the fallen timber in our front, 
w^hile a squad of riflemen, hiding behind the 
logs, and picking off with unerring certainty 
everj^ gunner that showed himself above the 
parapet, kept in silence one of their most effec- 
tive batteries. 

Toward 10 o'clock p.m., making a sally on the 
pickets in front of our brigade, the rebels pushed 
back the line for more than a hundred yards. 
While bringing up supports, and in the act of 
advancing the troops to re-establish the picket 
lines, Colonel Coulter was shot through the 
body and taken to the rear. Apparently satis- 
fied with testing the strength of the force in his 
front, the enemy retired, and everything re- 
mained quiet until a few hours ago. A part of 



GRANT MARCHING SOUTHWARD. 



341 



E well's Corps, crossing the 'Ny at a point above 
our extreme right, moved down to the Freder- 
icksburg road, thus seizing the main line of our 
communications. The Eleventh was hurried 
along for two miles toward Fredericksburg, at a 
double-quick. But the work of driving back 
Ewell was accomplished by Tyler's foot artiller- 
ists; and leaving it to others to keep up the pur- 
suit, we returned to our intrenchments on the 
left. The brigade is under command of Colonel 
Bates, of the Twelfth Massachusetts. 

Across the Pamunkey, May 28. — The events 
of the last nine days, though so full of signifi- 
cance, have been crowded upon each other in 
rapid succession. I^oiselessly as the Second 
Corps, preceded by a large force of cavalry, 
marched some distance to the rear of our posi- 
tion in front of Spottsylvania, at midnight of 
the 20th, it did not escape the notice of the 
men. It was the beginning of another move by 
the left flank, l^ext morning the Fifth Corps 
was following the Second, in easy supporting 
distance, over the road leading to Guinney's 
Station, where we bivouacked on the night of 
May 21st, driving away a small body of rebel 
cavalry. On the morning of the 22d, Colonel 
Bates's Brigade was ordered to make a recon- 
noissance toward the Telegraph road, three miles 
from the station. It was a slow and cautious 
marcb, our flanks well protected by trusty skirm- 
29* 



342 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



ishers. ISTot an enemy was to be seen; he too 
was moving southward. Some hours later, 
striking the Telegraph road, the Fifth Corps 
marched to Bowling Green, the county seat of 
Caroline County. The dreary Wilderness, and 
the scarcely less dreary region of Spottsylvania, 
where for two weeks, day and night, we had 
been fighting or intrenching, were left behind 
us, and the beautiful county of Caroline, without 
a mark of war's ravages upon its fair face, was a 
feast to the eye and a joy to the soul. Quitting^ 
our bivouac near Bowling Green early Monday 
morning, and passing in the march the Second 
Corps halted at Milford, the Fifth Corps reached 
Jericho Ford, on the N'orth Anna River, near 
the hour of noon. The enemy was not expect- 
ing us so high up the river; but Hancock's guns, 
afterward heard further to the left, gave warning 
by their thunders that the rebels had neither 
been deceived by our movements nor surprised 
at our advance. Unconquerable as ever, their 
gray-clad legions formed in battle-line across our 
path to Richmond. 

The Fifth Corps crossed the E^orth Anna at 
Jericho Ford without opposition, and marching 
a short distance down the south bank to a copse 
of woods, formed its battle-line with Cutler on 
the right, Griffin in the center, and Crawford on 
the left. Time was when the first thing to be 
done after a halt was to make cofiee, in whose 



FIFTH CORPS ON THE NORTH ANNA. 343 



grateful fumes all weariness was forgotten. 'Now 
the first thing the men do is to intrench. We 
had but commenced this necessary work when 
the center division was furiously assaulted by a 
heavy rebel column. The attack soon spread all 
along the line. But with intrenchments incom- 
plete, the rebels were repulsed at every point, 
leaving in our hands not less than a thousand 
prisoners. 

Tuesday morning an interval of three miles 
was discovered between Hancock on the left, who 
had bravel}^ fought his way across the river at 
Chesterfield bridge, and the Fifth and Sixth 
Corps on the right. The First Regiment of 
Pennsylvania Reserves was sent down the stream 
with orders to form a connection with the right 
of Hancock's line. Moving stealthily along the 
rocky bed of the river, concealed from view by 
its high bank, the regiment reached Quarrel's 
Ford, to find all further progress impossible, and 
the enemy closed in upon its rear. General War- 
ren then ordered Crawford to advance his entire 
division to find the lost regiment, and to com- 
plete the connection with Hancock. With the 
Second Brigade on the left, the Eleventh march- 
ing next to the river, our line was advanced 
against a desultory fire from the rebel pickets. 
The Reserves were found in communication with 
Burnside's troops, just arrived, and posted on the 
north bank. The uncovering of Quarrel's Ford, 



344 



STORY OP THE REGIMENT. 



thus effected, made a passage for the Mnth 
Corps, whose divisions at once passed over the 
river, and filling up the gap, by nightfall Craw- 
ford had returned to his place on the right. 

After two days of unsuccessful effort to carry 
the enemy's position, Thursday night, under 
cover of the thick clouds that were scudding the 
sky, the Fifth Corps recrossed the ISTorth Anna. 
Daylight of Friday, following after the Sixth 
Corps, we were marching down the north bank. 
Traveling eastwardl}^ for two or three hours, the 
impression became general that the army was 
making a retrograde movement. Again we 
changed course to the westward, and at last to 
the southward, bivouacking at night five miles 
from the Pamunkey. This morning when we 
came to the river it was spanned by pontoon 
bridges; the cavalry and the Sixth Corps were 
already on the opposite side, and filing down the 
slippery banks, made so by half an hour's rain, 
and over the trembling foot-walk, the Army of 
the Potomac was again on the Yorktown Penin- 
sula. 

Sunday, May 29. — There has been nothing of 
the quiet or sanctity of the Sabbath in any of our 
movements to-day. From early morning until 
this late evening hour, cavalry, infantry, and ar- 
tillery have been marching, now cautiously in 
line of battle, and again fiying in squadrons, 
or quickly moving in columns of division. 



ALONG THE CHICK AHOMINY. 



345 



Leaving our bivouac at an early hour, the 
corps began its advance toward the Chickahoni- 
iny, Crawford on the left, Cutler in the center, 
and Griffin on the right, and thus forming the 
left of the army. The route has been along the 
Grove Church turnpike, the enemy's skirmish 
line falling slowly back as we continued forward. 
The entire army is to-night in battle-line near the 
Chickahominy River. On the left of the Elev- 
enth are the Pennsylvania Reserves, ^ear the 
camp-fire where we write, a group of officers and 
men are recounting incidents that occurred two 
years ago, as the army of General McClellan 
marched over this same ground to the battle of 
Mechanicsville. There are frequent shots on the 
outlying picket posts, that seem to speak of the 
probabilities of to-morrow; but there is no flinch- 
ing anywhere among the troops. We have fought 
our way once more to the gates of Richmond, 
and this time with a persistency that must sooner 
or later carry us through them. 

Near Cold Harbor, Monday, June 6. — This 
is the eighth day of the battle of Cold Harbor, 
and the end is not yet. With the first dawn of 
Monday, May 30th, starting from beds on the 
ground, and shaking the dew from their blank- 
ets, the ranks of the Fifth Corps were formed for 
a speedy advance. Crawford's Division moved 
directly forward across the road to Shady Grove 
Church for the Mechanicsville pike, driving back 



346 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



in its progress a body of rebel cavalry. But it 
soon came to be known that there was something 
more than horsemen in our front — that the whole 
of Ewell's Corps held a position to cover all the 
approaches to the upper bridges of the Chicka- 
hominy. Detaching a division from his left, and 
marching it in rear of his line of troops, the rebel 
general had attempted to seize the Mechanics- 
ville pike, and thus strike our undefended flank. 

The movement was at once detected, and a 
brigade of the Eeserves sent out to meet it. 
Penetrating as far as Bethesda Church, the Re- 
serves were met by the head of the rebel column 
as it emerged from a narrow strip of woods, and 
the tierce encounter in which we are still engaged 
was there begun. Soon the whole division moved 
to the left, and around that quiet church, hitherto 
resting in undisturbed repose in a grove of beau- 
tiful oak trees, for many hours there was an an- 
gry clashing of arms, and a thundering of artil- 
lery. The rebels came to the attack in double 
lines, exposing themselves with reckless daring 
to the unerring tire of our batteries, whose shot 
and shell made great and frequent gaps in their 
ranks. Six o'clock in the evening the conflict 
extended along the whole front of the Fifth 
Corps, the enemy concentrating all his efl^brts to 
carry that portion of the line. But the troops of 
those war-tried brigades were immovable, and 
despite the most passionate and earnest charges, 



COLD HARBOR AND BETHESDA CHURCH. 347 

in whicli the Confederates revealed the spirit that 
inspires men fighting in the last straits, those 
lines maintained an unbroken front, and when 
night closed down upon the battle-field the po- 
sition was securely held. 

Tuesday, the 31st, was comparatively quiet 
until late in the afternoon, when the battle 
broke out afresh still further to the left. It was 
Sheridan's cavalry fighting for the important 
point of Cold Harbor, that was only wrested 
from the enemy after a severe struggle. June 
1st the Eighteenth Corps arrived from Butler's 
Department, and formed in line to the left of the 
Fifth Corps. During the night of the 31st the 
Sixth Corps had also been moved to the left, and 
on the morning of the 2d of June the Fifth Corps 
was the extreme right of the line, which now 
extended from Cold Harbor to Bethesda Church. 

In forming this new line there had been more 
or less of fighting at different points; but true to 
the promises of these preparatory moves, Friday, 
June 3d, witnessed the contest renewed with a 
fierceness beyond all precedent. Hancock's first 
gun on the left was speedily answered from the 
extreme right, and everywhere along the ex- 
tended line there were the sounds of desperate 
battle. Late in the afternoon the Eleventh was 
sent out on the picket line. It was taken by the 
enemy to be an advance of the division on his 
position, and subjected the regiment to a fire so 



348 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



direct and certain that in hardly as many feet 
across the open ground four of the men were 
killed and a number wounded, l^o impression 
whatever was made upon the rebel position on 
the right, and scarcely any on the left, where the 
fighting was more severe. The night of the 3d 
and most of the 4th of June were occupied by 
the troops in throwing up intrenchmehts, as 
though the enemy's works were to be carried 
by regular siege. 

The showery afternoon of Saturday was fol- 
lowed by a dark and cloudy evening. It was 
one of those nights when the soldier feels like 
early wrapping himself up in his blanket to rest; 
and it was a fitting night for the enemy, ever 
watchful and sagacious, to make a furious attack 
upon our lines. Deeper than midnight thunder 
peeled forth the cannon; while the burning 
shells, coursing through the air, looked like 
angry meteors escaped from their orbits. The 
assault did not reach the front of the Fifth 
Corps; but as the men stood in their places, 
ready for the word of command, they joined in 
the loud hurrah that told again and again of the 
repulse of the foe. The attack had been de- 
ferred too long. If we could not drive the 
Southerner from his strong earthworks, we were 
not to be driven from our own. Behind its in- 
trenchments either army was unconquerable. 
Last night was not unlike Saturday night in the 



MOVING BY THE LEFT FLANK. 



349 



black clouds that hung over the army. Under 
cover of its darkness, again the enemy sallied 
forth, this time, as before, on our extreme left. 
In the midst of the heavy cannonading we drew 
in our picket lines, and leaving the position near 
Bethesda Church, the corps marched slowly to- 
ward the left. 

The Eleventh is now on the right of the line, 
which rests near Gaines's Mills, while the left 
extends to Cold Harbor. The troops of the Sec- 
ond and Eighteenth Corps are between us and 
the enemy. Whether the corps are thus massing 
for a final assault upon the rebel lines, or a new 
flank movement is to be inaugurated, will soon 
be known. 

South of the James, Thursday, June 16. — It 
has a strange sound to say south of the James. 
From the point where we entered the Peninsula 
to that of our exit is fifty miles. We could have 
made the distance in two days' march, if nothing 
had opposed our progress, whereas it has con- 
sumed nearly three weeks. In less than two 
years history has so far repeated itself as to re- 
enact nearly all the prominent scenes of the first 
Peninsular campaign. Chickahominy Swamps, 
Gaines's Mills, Cold Harbor, Harrison's Landing 
— names familiar, and of enduring 'associations, 
for the moment pushing aside Antietam, Fred- 
ericksburg, Chancellorville, Gettysburg — claim 
again their first absorbing interest. 

30 



350 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Five days were spent in comparative quiet 
near Cold Harbor, the men working in details at 
digging rifle-pits and throwing up intrench- 
ments. Saturday morning, June 11th, the march 
of the Fifth Corps began, Crawford's Division 
leading the corps, and itself led by Wilson's Divi- 
sion of cavalry. The route was down the Pen- 
insula, and the purpose to effect a crossing of the 
Chickahominy at Long Bridge. The Confederate 
general was also extending his line eastward, and 
on the morning of the 13th, when the brigade 
reached the bridge, a force of the rebels already 
held possession. It was only a small force, how- 
ever, that quickly retired at our approach. Cross- 
ing the Chickahominy and filing out into the 
'New Market road, the division changed the di- 
rection of its march and moved toward Rich- 
mond. In less than an hour, and within a mile 
or two of White Oak Swamp, our line of battle 
was confronted by a line of the enemy. There 
was a mutual halt, each army again throwing up 
intrenchments and preparing for an attack. 

While the Fifth Corps thus lay stretched across 
the only road by which General Lee could assail 
our flank, the other corps were crossing the 
Chickahominy at points lower down, and with- 
out opposition moving toward the James. When 
night came on our picket line was quietly aban- 
doned, and falling into ranks, the Fifth Corps 
was bringing up the rear of the army. The 



Harrison's landing. 



351 



march was continued all night and until eleven 
o'clock of Tuesday, when we halted near Charles 
City Court House. 

This morning, all the wagon trains having 
passed on to the James River, we left our bi- 
vouac and marched to Harrison's Landing. The 
steamer John Brooks ferried the Eleventh across 
the magnificent river to Windmill Point. The 
men are now disembarking, and stacking arms 
on the nearest ground. The Army of the Poto- 
mac is at its watering-place, and ten thousand 
bathers crowd the beach. 



CHAPTER ni. 



SOUTH OF THE JAMES RIVER. 



^|its resting-place. The campaign north of the 
BPUames, though bitter and bloody beyond any- 
thing that had ever preceded it, without any 
abatement of these terrible qualities, was to be 
continued over the territory south of it. A halt 
of an hour or two, arid the bugle-note, familiar 
as ever, though echoed from strange and un- 
known surroundings, called the men into lines, 



352 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



and the march was coDtinned toward Peters- 
burg, now the objective point of the campaign. 

Contending with an opponent ever on the de- 
fensive, and fighting always on his own ground. 
Grant had so far failed of his original intention to 
invest Richmond from the west, and connect his 
lines with those of Butler at Bermuda Hundred, 
that he now resolved to siege Petersburg, and 
thus cut oiF the rebel army, pent up in its capi- 
tal, from all sources of supply except the solitary 
line of the James River Canal. 

The Eighteenth Corps, that came in transports 
from White House Landing, on the York River, 
to City Point, on the James, and the Second 
Corps, the first to cross from the Peninsula, were 
already in front of Petersburg. The Ninth Corps 
was en route for the same destination, two or 
three hours in advance, when the Fifth Corps 
began its march from the river shore. Diverg- 
ing to the left of the direct route, and following 
the road to Prince George Court House, the last 
rays of the setting sun had melted into twilight 
as we took our position on the left of the line 
now formed in front of Petersburg, the right of 
the Eleventh connecting with the I^^inth Corps. 

The golden moment to carry Petersburg by an 
unexpected attack passed away with the night of 
the 15th. It was then held by only a small force 
of home-guards. But clearly divining Grant's 
designs, Lee had crossed the James at Drury's 



IN FRONT OF PETERSBURG. 



353 



Bluff, and every subsequent hour witnessed a 
fresh arrival of his veteran divisions. The 17th 
was spent in adjusting our lines and preparing 
for a general assault on the following morning. 
Toward nightfall Crawford's Division advanced 
with the Is^inth Corps, and gaining some ground 
in front, captured a number of prisoners and the 
battle-flag of an Alabama regiment. 

The morning of June 18th opened clear and 
bright, revealing in its first light the spires of 
Petersburg, and wafting on its fresh, balmy air 
the sound of bells, ringing out their alarm in the 
ears of the anxious inhabitants of the beleaguered 
city. It was five o'clock, and orders having 
passed along the lines, from the right of the 
Eighteenth Corps, on the Appomattox, to the 
Fifth Corps, opposite Cemetery Hill, on the left, 
the skirmishers advanced to the grand assault. 
But the intrenchments, filled with armed men 
only the night before, and in whose front many 
a soldier expected to die, were now empty. The 
enemy had taken np a new line nearer to the 
city, and more securely defended than the outer 
line. 

Instead of a general assault, as at first intended, 
a new order of battle was devised. The attack 
was to be made in columns at different points 
along the enemy's w^orks. Speedily as possible 
the troops were distributed, and beginning on 
the right, the fearful work soon extended to all 
30* 



354 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



the corps. The Fifth and the ^STinth, moving 
out from their intrenchments, and passing over 
ground whose surface was crossed by deep and 
numerous ravines, made their daring but unsuc- 
cessful assault against that part of the Confed- 
erate line afterward the scene of the mine explo- 
sion. The repulse of the Federal army was 
general. Enfilading fires of infantry and artil- 
lery swept through our columns, leveling the 
ranks and with frightful suddenness depleting 
our numbers. 

The same persistency of purpose, seen in all 
the movements of the Federal army north of 
the James, was still apparent. Moving up to and 
beyond the abandoned works of the enemy, the 
morning of the 19th found the Union troops be- 
hind intrenchments as unyielding as those of the 
foe. The lines of the opposing armies, in many 
places, were scarcely a hundred yards apart, and 
for several succeeding days the conflict on either 
side was committed to the sharpshooters, who 
picked off' every man that showed himself above 
the parapets. Men and officers lived in bomb- 
proof quarters, and moved to the rear, or from 
right to left, through covered ways. 

As the line of earthworks became more sys- 
tematic and complete, daily attempts were made 
to extend our left flank, and more certainly en- 
velop the communications of Lee. But every 
day only brought out more clearly the conviction 



EXPLOSION OF PORT PEGRAM. 



355 



that the enemy had lost nothing of his watchful- 
ness, and that for every advantage gained we 
must pay the price in men. 

The mining of Fort Pegram, opposite the 
Ninth Corps, hegan on the 25th of June. Its 
conception belonged to a Pennsylvanian — Colo- 
nel Henry Pleasants — and its entire construction 
devolved upon a Pennsylvania regiment. The 
want of entire success attending the enterprise 
does not detract in the least from its merits as 
a wonder of perseverance and industry. The 
length of the main gallery was five hundred and 
twenty-two feet, and that of the laterals forty 
feet. For want of wheel-barrows, the excavated 
earth was carried out in cracker boxes, and in- 
geniously concealed from the prying look of the 
enemy. 

Through many discouragements, the mine was 
at last finished, and the 30th of July fixed for its 
explosion. It was to be the signal of another 
grand assault. Every gun along the whole Fed- 
eral line was to open upon the enemy, while the 
Eighteenth Corps, on the right of the Ninth, and 
the Fifth Corps on the left, were to be drawn up 
in line of battle, ready to rally to the support of 
Burnside as soon as his divisions succeeded in 
carrying the crest of Cemetery Hill. 

The orders were received the night before, and 
at the hour appointed — half-past three — the can- 
nons were charged, and tlie troops formed in line. 



356 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



A defect in the fuse delayed the explosion for 
more than an hour. It seemed almost an age 
to men eager to behold the result, and who 
stood with one foot advanced, ready to leap over 
the parapets at the first appearance of success. 

At last it came — a low, rumbling sound, which 
made the ground to shake with -a sudden tremor, 
and then a heavy report, that seemed like distant 
thunder. Quickly following was the more dread- 
ful roar of hundreds of cannon, lightiug up a 
hne of miles in extent with a sheet of flame. 
Along the entire front the supports moved for- 
ward, while forth from their intrenchments 
poured the storming party of the isTinth Corps. 

By the explosion of the mine a strong fort was 
converted into, a deep and extended fissure, in 
which three batteries of the enemy and not less 
than two hundred of his men found a sepulture. 
Paralyzed by the disaster, and fearful of other 
explosions, for a time the enemy was powerless, 
and a gap was made in his lines through which we 
might have secured the coveted city. But it was 
only for a moment. The divisions of the Mnth 
Corps, pausing at the crater instead of pushing 
on to Cemetery Hill, gave the enemy time to re- 
cover from his surprise From right to left he 
gathered up his forces, and turning his guns upon 
the gap through which the confused masses of 
Union troops Avere vainly endeavoring to force 
their way, the crater became the burial place of 



FIGHT FOR THE WELDON KAILROAD. 357 



nnore than two hundred rebels. Before the at- 
tacking column returned to the intrenchments 
four thousand men of the Federal army were 
killed and wounded. 

The reverses in our immediate front did not 
prevent a gradual extension of our lines south- 
ward. Eor several days the Fifth Corps had been 
constantly veering toward the left, until toward 
the middle of August, the camp of the Eleventh 
was within three miles of the Weldon Railroad, 
one of the chief sources of supply of the Con- 
federate army. The whistle of the locomotive 
and the rattling of the trains could be distinctly 
heard in their passage to and from Petersburg, 
now laden with commissary stores, and again 
with troops. A happy combination of move- 
ments calling the attention of Lee north of the 
James River, promised success to an effort to se- 
cure this road, and thus lessen the resources of 
the Southern commander. 

The enterprise was committed to the Fifth 
Corps, throughout whose camps cartridge-boxes 
were replenished, and rations for four days issued 
to the men. The march began on Thursday 
morning, August 18th, Griffin's Division in the 
advance, and Crawford's following in his rear. 
Two hours of slow and steady marching brought 
us to the railroad, when, changing direction, and 
moving toward Petersburg, the w^ork of tearing 
up the track was prosecuted with vigor. 



358 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



The thin line of the enemy, met early in the 
morning, had fallen back before our advance. 
But the great clouds of dust, rising between us 
and the city, told of the approach of such a body 
of troops as would contest any further progress. 
It proved to be Hill's Corps moving down the 
railroad in line of battle, and presenting indeed 
a formidable barrier across our path. Securing 
the position we had already gained, at six o'clock 
p. M. the divisions of Crawford and Ayres were 
ordered forward. The enemy at once developed 
a strong line in front of Crawford, but it was a 
mere feint, for, massing to the left of Ayres, Hill 
fell upon that extreme flank with one of his 
strongest divisions, capturing many prisoners, 
and driving back the entire line. 

It was now night, and the falling rain made it 
pitchy dark. There were few alarms until after 
daylight of the 19th, with whose first dawning 
the men of Crawford's Division began the erec- 
tion of earthworks, to protect their flank and 
front. All forenoon reinforcements were reach- 
ing the enemy, and everywhere along the line he 
was testing the strength of our position. We 
might have concluded that a thorough examina- 
tion only revealed the folly of assaulting a 
strongly intrenched line. But General Lee is 
reported as saying that the Weldon Railroad 
must be regained that day if it cost him one-half 
his army, and at four o'clock in the afternoon 



Crawford's right gives way. 



359 



those rebel troops came rushing down upon us 
with yells and hurrahs, only a proper accom- 
paniment for the volleys of their rifles. 

There was a gap between the left of the main 
line of the army, resting on the Jerusalem plank- 
road, and the right of Crawford's Division, held 
by the Third Brigade, discovered by the enemy, 
through which he was pouring his regiments, 
until completely carrying away our right flank, 
he had swept quite into our rear, taking in his 
track nearly all of four regiments, the Mnetieth 
and One-hundred-and-seventh Pennsylvania, and 
the Mnety-fourth and One-hundred-and-fourth 
'New York. It was a moment when confusion 
worse confounded had come again, threatening 
not only the loss of our hold on the railroad, but 
of most of the corps. 

Fortunately Colonel Wheelock, for the time in 
command of Baxter's Brigade, with characteris- 
'tic gallantry, ordered his command to change 
front, and charging upon the rebels at the same 
time that each regiment delivered a terrible vol- 
ley of musketry at short range, retrieved the for- 
tunes of the day. The enemy broke and fled 
with an astonishment equal to that caused by his 
own daring flank movement, leaving in our hands 
numerous prisoners, besides hundreds of our own 
men captured a moment before, and on thieir way 
to the rebel rear. 

The standard of the Mnety-fourth ITew York, 



860 STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 

wrested from the color-bearer as he lay on the 
ground wounded, was retaken by Captain James 
l^oble, of the Eleventh, and restored to the reg- 
iment. Private Greorge W. Reed, of Co. E, in a 
hand to hand conflict, captured the flag of the 
Twenty-fourth ITorth Carolina Regiment, and 
was awarded a medal of honor by the Secretary 
of War. 

Our front line had now given way, and though 
the Confederate loss in men was as great as our 
own, the grasp by which we held the railroad, 
the prize for which we had been contending, was 
considerably weakened. At that opportune mo- 
ment reinforcements from the ^Tinth Corps came 
up. Our ranks were at once reformed, and by a 
charge full of the old enthusiasm, the lost ground 
was regained. The enemy fell back to the in- 
trenchments from which he had so defiantly 
marched three hours before, disappointed and 
defeated. 

The morning of the 20th of August found a 
strong line of earthworks along the entire front 
held by the Fifth Corps, and the gap through 
which the enemy executed his flank movement, 
filled by a division of the ^Tinth Corps. Heavy 
clouds poured forth a constant rain during most 
of the day, and though there was sharp firing 
among the skirmishers, the rebels seemed indis- 
posed to repeat the assault of Friday. Sunday 
morning came, wearing a smile of loveliness on 



WELDON RAILROAD SECURE. 361 

the clear sky and in the balmy air. The first 
look at the Southern lines revealed an intention 
to renew the attack. The Weldon Railroad was 
of too much importance to be yielded up without 
a further effort. 

Half-past eight o'clock, treating us first to a 
storm of shell from well-posted artillery, Lee ad- 
vanced his columns for a final assault. There 
was no faltering anywhere along that rebel line. 
But it was too late. Waiting behind earthworks 
that could not be stormed, our men reserved 
their fire until the furious foe came within the 
measure of certain death. Then cannon and 
musketry shot forth their contents, sweeping 
down whole ranks at each separate discharge. 

It was too late. The Federals held secure 
possession of the Weldon Railroad. The rations 
in Lee's army were at once reduced from half a 
pound of bacon and a pound and a quarter of 
meal per man, daily, to one-fourth pound of 
bacon and three-fourths pound of meal. 



31 



362 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



CHAPTEE IV. 

ADVANCES AND RETROGRADES. 

The days that followed the occupation of the 
Weldon Railroad were as prolific as ever in ac- 
tive movements against the rebels. 'Now north 
of the James, and again south of it; now in But- 
ler's Department, and again on the left as far 
as Reams's Station and Rowantj Creek, there 
were advances and retrogrades, skirmishes and 
battles. 

The month of September and the greater part 
of October wore away in these various enter- 
prises, and in extending the strong line of re- 
doubts to Fort Dushane, the extreme southern 
flank held by Baxter's Brigade. Presuming still 
more upon the beautiful weather of that fine au- 
tumnal month, on the 27th of October a new 
movement was undertaken, having for its object 
the extension of our lines to Hatcher's Run. It 
was a blow threatening the Southside Railroad, 
and aroused all the vigilance of the Southern 
commander. The expedition was unsuccessful, 
and by the 1st of IsTovember, after an absence of 
six days, the corps were back again in the old 
camps. 



CHANGES IN THE ELEVENTH. 



363 



The campaign that opened with the crossing 
of the Rapidan in May, ended with the expedi- 
tion to Hatcher's Eun. It had continued through 
six months, with an aggregate loss, on battle- 
fields, in skirmishes, on picket, and in the 
trenches before Petersburg, of a hundred thou- 
sand men. The organization, not only of single 
regiments, but of the entire army, was almost 
radically changed. 'New recruits that were com- 
ing rapidly to the front prevented the ranks of 
the Eleventh from falling at any time below two 
hundred; but they were strange faces. Five 
hundred men had been lost to the regiment 
during the campaign ; many of them among the 
killed ; more of them disabled by wounds, and 
still others of them in the hands of the enemy, 
enduring the horrors of Andersonville and Salis- 
bury. 

On the 5th of September Colonel Coulter re- 
commended the appointment of Captain B. F. 
Haines to be major, vice Major Keenan, killed 
at Laurel Hill; Sergeant Harrison Truesdale to 
be first lieutenant of Co. B, vice Lieutenant 
John P. Straw, killed at Cold Harbor; Corporal 
Robert R. Bitner to be second lieutenant of 
Co. B, vice Lieutenant Samuel W. Phillips, dis- 
charged on account of disability; Sergeant Major 
John A. Stevenson to be first lieutenant of Co. 
C, vice Lieutenant John McClintock, discharged 
on account of wounds; Sergeant William H. 



364 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



McLaughlin to be second lieutenant of Co. C, 
vice Lieutenant A. Scball, promoted; Second 
Lieutenant James Moore to be first lieutenant 
of Co D, vice Lieutenant Enos'S. Hall, died of 
wounds; Sergeant James E. Brown to be second 
lieutenant of Co. D, vice Lieutenant James 
Moore, promoted. On tbe 13th of October Sec- 
ond Lieutenant James J. Briggs was recom- 
mended to be first lieutenant of Co. E, vice 
Lieutenant Samuel J. Hammil, discharged on. 
account of wounds; Sergeant Daniel Bonbright 
to be second lieutenant of Co. E, vice Lieuten- 
ant Briggs, promoted. Immediate attention to 
these appointments was urged, because four 
companies were without commissioned officers 
in the field, and the other companies had but one 
officer each present for duty. 

On the 1st of IN'ovember Sergeant John Kyle 
was recommended to be first lieutenant of Co. 
I, vice Lieutenant W. A. Shrum, discharged on 
account of wounds; Sergeant Lewis Mechling 
to be second lieutenant of Co. I, vice Lieuten- 
ant Shrum, promoted. Again, later in the month, 
the heavy loss in officers continuing to be felt, 
Lieutenant John A. Stevenson was recommended 
to be adjutant, vice Arthur F. Small, discharged; 
Sergeant David Weaverling to be second lieu- 
tenant of Co. A, vice Lieutenant Allen S. Ja- 
cobs, promoted; Lieutenant William II. Mc- 
Laughlin to be first lieutenant of Co. C, vice 



THE HICKSFORD RAID. 



365 



Lieutenant Stevenson, appointed adjutant; Ser- 
geant Henry D. Weller to be second lieutenant 
of Co. C, vice Lieutenant McLaughlin, pro- 
moted; Lieutenant Kobert Anderson to be reg- 
imental quartermaster, vice Lieutenant Allen S. 
Jacobs, deceased; Lieutenant Samuel McCut- 
cheon to be first lieutenant of Co. F, vice Lieu- 
tenant Anderson, appointed quartermaster ; Ser- 
geant James T. Cook to be second lieutenant 
of Co. F, vice Lieutenant McCutcheon, pro- 
moted. 

The reorganizing of the broken ranks of the 
old Eleventh was not only necessary, but timely. 
A new raid was to be made by the Fifth Corps 
on the Weldon Eailroad. Although our lines 
crossed it within six miles of Petersburg, it 
was known that the enemy was procuring large 
supplies for his troops by way of this road to 
Stony Creek, whence they were conveyed in 
wagons to Petersburg. The Fifth Corps, with 
the Third Division of the Second Corps, and 
Gregg's cavalry, were detailed elfectually to de- 
stroy the road as far south as the town of Hicks- 
ford, on the Meherrin River. 

The march commenced on Wednesday, the 
7th of December. It was a dull winter morning 
as the troops filed out along the Jerusalem plank- 
road. Various indeed were the conjectures as 
to the probable destination of the column, carry- 
ing on the persons of its troops six days' rations. 
31* 



366 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



At one time the movement was pronounced a 
reconnoissance toward the Southside road; at 
another we were certainly to effect a union with 
Sherman in Georgia. 

The heavy clouds of the opening day realized 
the promise of a rain-storm which lasted until 
noon. Late in the afternoon the sun came out 
bright and warm, sending a spirit of cheerfulness 
throughout all the ranks. Crossing the i^otto- 
way Elver — a little stream not unlike the Upper 
Rappahannock, that flows on toward I^orth Car- 
olina, and helps to form the Chowan Eiver — 
nine o'clock at night, we bivouacked at Sussex 
Court House. A brick building, standing a 
short distance from the road, and of unpreten- 
tious size, was pointed out as the place where in 
other times Justice was dispensed according to 
the code of Virginia. Six other buildings, every 
one of them a good deal the worse for the wear, 
completed the ancient and insignificant town. 

Thursday morning, with the first streak of 
gray dawn, the march was resumed. The quick 
ear of the troops, awake to the perils of the un- 
dertaking, that increased with every advancing 
mile, caught the first shot in front, that told of 
the presence of the enemy. It was Gregg en- 
countering a party of rebel cavalry guarding the 
railroad bridge across the river. Driving away 
the guard and setting fire to the structure, the 
work of destruction at once commenced. The 



DESTROYING THE RAILROAD. 



367 



infantry struck the railroad four miles further 
south, and lending willing hands to the cavalry, 
by Friday night, from the ITottoway to the Me- 
herrin, a distance of twenty miles, tlie Weldon 
Railroad ceased to exist. 

Each division did its appropriate part; de- 
stroying all in its immediate front, and then 
moving alternately southward. The burning 
ties, aided by the nearest fence rails, cast a lurid 
light on the midnight heavens, telling to the Con- 
federate commander the story of ruin wrought; 
while the heated rails, torn from the car track, 
that many strong arms made to take the shape 
and form of the distinguishing badge of the Fifth 
Corps, may remain to this day to tell by whom 
the ruin was wrought. 

The country through which we passed diiFered 
but little in its general features from that in the 
immediate vicinity of Petersburg. There were 
no intrenchments to be seen, nor anything to in- 
timate that two hostile armies were only a day's 
march distant. The plantations were large and 
frequent, with here and there fields of cotton, 
still carrying their small, imperfect crop. 

The most noticeable feature to the eye of the 
soldier was the apparent plenty that dwelt in the 
land. Chickens and turkeys, that were thought 
to be extinct in Virginia, dwelt here prolific, in 
ease and security; while the lowing of the cow 
and the tinkling of sheep bells suggested that 



368 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



quieter days than those that came to us still 
dawned upon the world. 

Breaking up our bivouac at Bellfield Station, 
two miles from the Meherrin River, the return 
march began in the early morning of December 
10th. A cold, sleety rain had fallen during the 
night, softening the roads, and making the move- 
ment slow and heavy. Crawford's Division was 
the left of the column, with Baxter's Brigade and 
a squad of cavalry as its rear-guard. 

Our destructive operations had not proceeded 
altogether unmolested. At different points the 
enemy showed himself, and as his cavalry were 
known to be following a short distance in our 
rear, every precaution was taken to defend the 
column against attack. Five miles from the 
place of starting, the troops halted in a thick 
woods, whose trees and overhanging branches 
were an agreeable shelter from the cold north 
wind that blew in keen and piercing blasts. Re- 
suming the march, and as the rear regiments 
were moving out into the road, our cavalry guard, 
driven in by the rebels, came rushing through 
the ranks of the brigade in affrighted confusion, 
breaking its files, and throwing the whole line 
into disorder. 

It was only momentary. A line of battle com- 
posed of four regiments — the Eleventh Pennsyl- 
vania and Mnety-seventh 'New York on the left 
of the road, the Eighty-eighth Pennsylvania and 



A SUCCESSFUL AMBUSH. 



369 



Thirty-ninth Massachusetts on the right, each 
regiment deploying skirmishers in its front — was 
thrown across the track of the pursuing enemy. 
The cautious Confederates came near enough to 
reconnoiter our lines, but not near enough to ex- 
change shots. Supported by infantry bayonets, 
the cavalry recovered their courage, and falling 
into ranks, the advance was continued. 

Seven o'clock in the evening the rebel cavalry, 
that had followed us all day, was still hanging on 
our flanks, with the evident purpose of attacking 
some part of the column as we went into bivouac 
for the night. But there were counter-move- 
ments going on, quietly and secretly, that entirely 
defeated this purpose of our troublesome friends. 

Halting near the camp of the division, by or- 
der of General Crawford, the Eleventh Pennsyl- 
vania, Mnety-seventh l^ew York, and a part of 
the Eighty-eighth Pennsylvania, formed in am- 
bush on either side and across the road. Favored 
by the darkness of the evening and the shadow 
of the pine woods through which a section of the 
road passed, the men crouched down behind the 
fences, and awaited the coming of the foe. The 
strategy was explained to our cavalry, who, first 
making a show of resistance, quickly retired, 
pursued by the rebels, fifteen or twenty of whom 
came within the ambush. It was a fatal trap for 
more than half the number that entered it. At 
a word, a volley of musketry issued from either 



370 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



side of the road, lighting up the darkness with a 
fitful glare, and carrying death and wounds to 
those fearless rebel riders. 

"If you had delayed a day longer," said one 
of the wounded men, "you would not be naarch- 
ing back at your present leisure. A force is now 
in pursuit with orders not to permit a single 
raider to escape." 

The knowledge of a pursuing foe had some- 
thing to do with the early sound of the bugle on 
the following morning; and while the stars were 
yet shining, the troops started off at a brisk walk 
over ground frozen hard by the cold that had in- 
creased with every hour of the night. Late in the 
afternoon, reaching the ]N"ottoway River, a di- 
vision of the Mnth Corps was found halted on 
the north bank. General Meade had read the 
signals of the enemy in front of Petersburg, and 
with the departure of the Confederate force to 
intercept our return, sent Park's Division to re- 
inforce Warren. Three cheers from the south 
side of the stream greeted those on the north 
side ; and crossing on pontoons that were soon 
made to span the river, two miles from its bank 
the army encamped until next morning. 

By sundown of Monday we were back again 
in the old position on the Jerusalem plank-road. 
More than a hundred miles had been traveled in 
six days, and with a loss to the Eleventh of one 
man severely wounded, and two missing, the 



BACK AGAIN IN CAMP. 



371 



Hicksford raid resulted in the entire destruction 
to the Confederates of the Weldon Raih^oad. 

The Army of the Potomac quietly settled down 
into winter quarters. Dense forests, once so dif- 
ficult to traverse, yielded to the sturdy blows of 
the axe, and numerous log cabins, similar to those 
erected north of the Rappahannock in the pre- 
ceding winter, were now seen covering miles of 
territory where once stood the baronial dwellings 
of the Randolphs and the Tuckers, and around 
which transpired scenes and events that still live 
in story. 



CHAPTER V. 

EXTENDING THE LEFT TO HATCHER'S RUN. 

The advent of the year 1865, in the prepara- 
tions throughout the camps of infantry and cav- 
alry, gave notice of an early campaign. During 
the several weeks of comparative quiet that fol- 
lowed the expedition to the Meherrin River, the 
Eleventh was adjusting its broken ranks, and 
preparing for the next offensive movements 
against the rebels. 

Major B. P. Haines was promoted to lieuten- 
ant-colonel, vice H. A. Prink, promoted to col- 



372 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



onel of the One-hundred-and-eighty-second Regi- 
ment of Pennsylvania Volunteers ; Captain John 
B. Overmyer was commissioned major ; Lieuten- 
ant James Moore was made captain of Co. D; 
Lieutenant James J. Briggs, captain of Co. E, 
vice Henry B. Piper, discharged; Daniel Bon- 
bright, first lieutenant of Co. E ; and Sergeant 
Richard W. Morris, second lieutenant of Co. H. 

Some time before the Hicksford raid, in De- 
cember, the members of the Ninetieth Penn- 
sylvania Regiment, who had re-enlisted as vete- 
rans, were transferred to the ranks of the 
Eleventh. Belonging to the same division 
and brigade, companions in the march from 
Washington to Petersburg, side by side these 
two regiments had fought in all the great 
battles from Cedar Mountain to the Weldon 
Railroad. The story of one, with but slight and 
insignificant changes, is the story of the other. 
It was eminently proper, at the close of the 
original term of enlistment, on the retirement of 
Colonel Peter Lyle and Lieutenant-Colonel Wil- 
liam A. Leech, together with a number of the line 
oflacers — men who did their whole duty nobly 
and well — that what remained of the Ninetieth 
should be consolidated with the Eleventh. 

With the opening of the month of February 
the wind began to blow warm from the south. 
Inspection of arms and accouterments had been 
a part of the daily drill for more than a week. 



OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN. 



373 



and on tlie evening of February 4tli, when there 
commenced all along the lines a fierce bombard- 
ment of the rebel works — such as had not been 
heard since the close of the fall campaign — every 
man knew that the time to march had come. 

Three o'clock Sunday morning, the shrill blast 
of the bugle gave notice that Gregg's Division of 
cavalry was in motion, moving down the Jerusa- 
lem plank-road. Two hours later, the Fifth 
Corps was following the cavalry, marching along 
the Halifax road, with Ayres's Division in the ad- 
vance. Griffin next, and Crawford in the rear. 
Further to the right the Second Corps was 
moving directly toward Hatcher's Run. The 
Fifth Corps was intended to strike the enemy's 
right, and so made a detour to the left; while the 
Second Corps, marching along the Yaughan road, 
would strike the enemy's works on Hatcher's 
Run in front. 

Leaving the old camp on the Jerusalem plank- 
road — which had already served as the starting- 
point for several important movements — the 
Eleventh marched in rear of the brigade. 
Through the stupid blunder of an aid-de-camp, 
the troops started out equipped for light march- 
ing, taking nothing with them but arms and ac- 
couterments. In the afternoon a cold, pelting 
rain-storm set in, continuing through most of 
the night. 

The bivouac on Dabney's plantation, across 
32 



374 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



Gravelly Eun, presented a strange sight of men 
crowded together around the camp-fires, with no 
other protection than overcoats, and an occasional 
gum blanket. Sleeping on the ground, in a win- 
ter rain-storm, is not well calculated to make men 
amiable, and there was a disposition on the part 
of many to express their wrath in hard words. 
But there was also a vast deal of patient endur- 
ance among those men who covered up their 
heads in the capes of their overcoats, and with 
feet to the blazing camp-fire — that was made to 
burn despite the rain — slept on until morning. 

'Next day the march was continued, Craw^ford's 
Division crossing Hatcher's Run, and massing 
along the bank of the stream. The Federal 
battle-line was formed with the Second Corps on 
the right, the Fifth Corps in the center, and the 
cavalry -on the left. Hatcher's Run flows in a 
southeasterly direction, and at its junction with 
Grravelly Eun, forms the Eowanty Creek, a deep 
but sluggish stream that flows into the I^ottoway 
Eiver. The country around is low and swampy, 
cut up by ravines, and covered with forests 
traversed here and there by narrow country 
roads. 

Early in the morning the Second Corps carried 
the flrst line of the enemy's works, and was 
firmly established on Hatcher's Eun, the left con- 
necting with the Fifth Corps. Two o'clock p.m. 
of February 6th, Crawford's Division recrossed 



BATTLE OF HATCHER'S RUN. 875 



Hatcher's Eun, and advanced tliree-fourtlis of a 
mile toward Dabney's Mill, with the intent of 
striking the Bojdton plank-road. Baxter's Bri- 
gade was formed in two lines of battle, the Ninety- 
seventh New York, Sixteenth Maine, and Thirty- 
ninth Massachusetts in the first line, and the 
Eleventh and Eighty-eighth Pennsylvania in the 
second line. 

Colonel Coulter had been breveted brigadier- 
general, and was in command of the Third 
Brigade. Lieutenant-Colonel Haines was serving 
on General Crawford's staff as Inspector-General, 
leaving the command of the Eleventh to Major 
Overmyer. 

Moving forward a quarter of a mile further, 
the first line encountered Pegram's rebel division, 
and in a moment Crawford's troops were in the 
heat of battle. General Pegram was killed by 
the first volley from our guns, and the ranks of 
his division, missing the animating voice and 
cheering presence of their gallant leader, were 
pushed back in surprise and confusion. 

In front of Crawford were the ruins of an old 
saw-mill and a broad swamp ; to the right of his 
line was a strip of heavy forest. Moving a short 
distance by the right flank, the Eleventh threw 
up temporary breastworks within the cover of 
the woods. But Evans's Division was sent to the 
relief of Pegram, and no troops being on our 
right, in which direction the enemy was bearing 



376 



STOEY OF THE KEGIMENT. 



down in large force, the defenses were abandoned, 
Crawford's line falling back some distance to the 
rear. 

The momentary lull in our own rapid firing 
brought to our ears the sound of battle as it was 
raging on the right and on the left. Seeing the 
enemy halt in the works we had just abandoned, 
and encouraged by the report of heavy reinforce- 
ments coming up in the rear, Crawford's men 
rallied, retook the works from the enemy, and 
held them against a terrible fire. 

The head of Ayres's Division, marching to 
Crawford's relief, was now in plain view. But 
before he could form his line on the right of the 
Eleventh, the enemy struck his flank, and threw 
him back on Hatcher's Run. Without support, 
and the last round of ammunition expended by 
the troops on the right, Crawford's line could 
maintain itself no longer, and went down with the 
giving way of Ay res. 

Meanwhile Gregg, on the left, pressed on flank 
and in rear by the rebel cavalry, was also driven 
from his defenses, and forced to retreat beyond 
Hatcher's Run. The enemy, still further rein- 
forced by Mahone's Division, followed the routed 
Federals with fiendish shouts. Another disaster 
on the left — the bloody left," as the troops called 
it — appeared inevitable, as the men, lost in the 
woods, and entangled in the swamps and ravines, 
made their uncertain way to the rear. But the 



BATTLE OF HATCIIBR'S RUN. 377 



line of intrenchments thrown up by the Second 
Corps, on the evening of the 5th and the morn- 
ing of the 6th, was a rallying point for the 
troops, and from behind those works a fire was 
poured into the eager Confederates that first 
halted their lines, and then sent them back to 
the cover of the woods. It was now dark night. 
The noise of battle had ceased, and secure 
within its defenses, the Federal line kept a firm 
hold on Hatcher's Run. 

Early on the morning of February 7th, the 
enemy showed himself in front of our infantry 
and cavalry pickets, keeping up a heavy skirmish 
fire for several hours, but making no attempt to 
charge our lines. Toward noon Crawford's Di- 
vision, supported on the left by General Wheaton, 
marched along the earthworks a mile to the right 
of the Vaughan road. Debouching from the in- 
trenchments, the Thirty-ninth Massachusetts, of 
Baxter's Brigade, supported by the Eleventh 
Pennsylvania, was thrown forward as skirmish- 
ers. At the moment of marching out into com- 
paratively open ground, as though possessed with 
the thought of testing the strength of our works 
across the Yaughan road, a line of the enemy's 
skirmishers was seen issuing from behind tem- 
porary works, and moving toward us. The con- 
test between the skirmishers was short and de- 
cisive, resulting in the driving back of the rebels, 
and the capture of their defenses. 

32* 



378 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



The Eleventh remained on the picket line un- 
til ten o'clock p.m., and without attacking the 
main line of the Confederates, Crawford retired 
behind Hatcher's Run, where the division biv- 
ouacked until morning. 

Throughout the livelong night was heard the 
sound of the axe and the spade, as thousands of 
workmen threw up strong and enduring in- 
trenchments. On the afternoon of February 8th, 
Baxter's entire brigade was sent out on picket. 
But the enemy maintained a sullen silence. Con- 
tent to defend the Boydton plank-road against all 
attacks. Hatcher's Eun was given up without a 
further struggle, and on the morning of the 10th, 
the Eleventh marched back to the old camp near 
Jerusalem plank-road, losing in the first cam- 
paign of the new year eighty-nine officers and 
men. 

Two days later, the military railroad running 
from City Point was extended to Hatcher's Run, 
which thus became the extreme left of the Fed- 
eral battle-line, a success of no little importance 
in the subsequent campaign. 



FINAL CONCENTRATION, 



379 



CHAPTER YI. 

FINAL CONCENTRATION. 

The extension of the left flank to Hatcher's 
Run was followed by several weeks of almost en- 
tire inaction to the armies besieging Richmond 
and Petersburg. But it was not inaction after 
all ; it was the labor of patient waiting. Sher- 
man had completed his march from Atlanta to 
the sea, and turning northward, the tramp of his 
legions was heard moving across the Carolinas. 
A second attempt had reduced Fort Fisher to a 
Federal garrison, over whose parapets now waved 
the old flag, while a column of brave troops, 
thirty thousand strong, were marching inland 
from Wilmington and l^ewbern to join Sherman. 
One comprehensive mind was directing all the 
parts, and the Army of the Potomac, beginning 
the campaign on Hatcher's Run, was resting on 
its arms, awaiting the Lieutenant-General's final 
concentration. 

For two or three days President Lincoln, and 
a party of ladies and gentlemen from Washing- 
ton, had been the guests of General Grant. Be- 
fore returning to the capital, the President was 



380 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



to review the army, throughout whose ranks ac- 
tive preparations were making for the event. 
General officers sent to City Point for dress-coats, 
and fancy horse trappings, that had been left 
there as of no use at the front; while the men, 
compelled to wear whatever the quartermaster 
provided, burnished their muskets, and rubbed 
to silvery brightness the brass plates of their ac- 
couterments. 

Da^dight of March 25th — the day appointed 
for the review — the troops were startled from 
their bomb-proof sleeping apartments by tiring 
on the right. It was too early in the morning 
for a salute, and the practiced ear of the soldier 
detected in the thud of the distant guns some- 
thing more than the noise of a blank cartridge. 

The click of the telegraph at Crawford's head- 
quarters, whose first anticipated message was an 
order to fall in line for review, told of the rebel 
attack on Fort Steadman, and an hour later the 
division was marching at a quick step to the 
right. Two divisions of the enemy, quietly mass- 
ing in front of the Mnth Corps, burst upon our 
intrenchments, and capturing the fort, turned its 
nine guns upon the adjacent batteries. It was a 
brilliant achievement, but its success was short- 
lived. Eallying from all points of the Federal 
line, the daring enemy was pushed out into 
the space over which he came, now swept by 
the cross-fire of a score of batteries right and 



THE ARMY INCREDULOUS. 



381 



left of Steadman. There was no alternative but 
to surrender, and two thousand prisoners were 
sent to the rear. Thus the review was changed 
into a battle ; and Crawford's Division marched 
back to its place on the left. 

For three days after, the camps were all alive 
with preparations for a general move. But when 
the order came, on the 29th of March, there was 
nothing borne on the wings of the wind, or seen 
in the face of the sky, to indicate that the army 
was beginning its last campaign. Rumors reached 
us of the conference of generals at City Point, 
and the union of the armies of Meade and Sher- 
man. But all that had been talked of many times 
before. The rank and file had grown incredu- 
lous. Four years of war, while it made the men 
brave and valorous, had entirely cured them of 
imagining that each campaign would be the last. 
Passing by the cooking apartment of regimental 
headquarters, a soldier struck his musket against 
the cracker-box, set up on a barrel to help the 
draught of the chimney. 

''Don't knock dat chimbly down, please, sah," 
was the polite expostulation of the cook. "We'll 
be back here agin in a week, and I'll want to 
use it." 

But Struthers was a false prophet. That was 
our last move from the old camp near the Jeru- 
salem plank-road. 

"Wednesday morning, March 29th, as early as 



382 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



three o'clock, tlie Fifth Corps was moving in the 
direction of Dinwicldie Court House. Sheridan's 
cavahy was in the advance, with instructions to 
find the enemy's right, and, if possible, force 
him from his intrenchments. Crawford's Divi- 
sion moved along the Halifax road, Baxter's 
Brigade bringing up the rear. Time was when 
the Eleventh alone would have made a show of 
resistance quite equal in numbers to that pre- 
sented by the entire brigade. !N"either through 
volunteering nor drafting could the ranks be 
kept up to more than a fourth of their original 
strength for duty. 

By noon we had passed the line of earthworks 
on the left, and moving southward, crossed Row- 
an ty Creek, below the junction of Gravelly and 
Hatcher's Run. Following the road to Dinwid- 
dle Court House as far as the Quaker road, the 
troops turned up the latter, and crossed G-ravelly 
Run. The line of the Fifth Corps was formed 
with Griffin on the right, Ayres in the center, and 
Crawford on the left. In front of the entire line 
were the enemy's skirmishers, disputing every 
step of our advance. But it was Griffin, near 
the old saw-mill, that had the sharpest engage- 
ment, infli-cting a severe loss upon the enemy, 
and losing heavily himself The left of the line, 
not thus delayed, swung around further to the 
front, until near its junction with the Quaker 
road. The brigade commanded by General Coul- 



BOYDTON PLANK-ROAD OCCUPIED. 383 



ter was tlie first to lay its hands on the coveted 
Boydton plank-road, and by early evening a 
strong line of intrenchments was stretched 
across it. 

The rain that commenced falling in drenching 
showers with the setting in of night, though it 
did not prevent the men from extending the de- 
fenses, confined the operations of March 30th to 
short advances and reconnciterings along the 
plank-road as far to the right as Burgess's Mill. 
March 31st, the storm was over; but the whole 
country round was one vast swamp, holding fast 
in its quagmire everything on wheels. The only 
exception to the flat, marshy character of the 
ground was the line held by the enemy, running 
along the White Oak Kidge, whose tolerably good 
road crossed the Boydton plank-road near Bur- 
gess's Mill, and continued on to Petersburg. 

General Lee was not ignorant of G-rant's move- 
ments on the left, and with heavy reinforcements 
from Petersburg, was directing in person the 
operations in our front. Toward eleven o'clock a 
brigade of Ayres's Division was sent out against 
the enemy's skirmishers. The object was to 
discover with what force he held the White 
Oak road. Our troops had only advanced a few 
hundred yards, when the repulse became gen- 
eral, and Winthrop's Brigade returned. 

Meanwhile, the rebels were also contemplating 
a forward move ; and seizing that as a favorable 



384 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



moment, the Confederates fell upon Ayres, from 
the north and the west, breaking his ranks and 
forcing him back in confusion. Crawford's lines 
were also carried down in the assault, both divi- 
sions falling back on Griffin, who was in position 
along the bank of a small stream — a branch of 
Gravelly Run — west of the plank-road. Four 
hours later, with broken ranks reformed. Gen- 
eral Warren advanced the entire available force 
of the Fifth Corps, driving the enemy back into 
his intrenchments, capturing almost the whole of 
the Fifty-sixth Virginia Regiment, with its com- 
plete stand of colors. 

Sheridan and his cavalry bivouacked at Din- 
widdle Court House March 29th. E'ext day a 
reconnoissance toward Five Forks drove back 
parties of the enemy's skirmishers, and devel- 
oped a strong force in position, holding the White 
Oak road. Returning once more to Dinwiddle, 
the troopers awaited the coming of March 31st. 
Early Friday morning they were moving out 
along the several roads concentrating at Din- 
widdle, to the attack of Five Forks. But 
there were counter-movements from the rebel 
side. As a military point, the Court House was 
all-important, and must not be left in the hands 
of the Yankees. Starting as early as Sheridan, 
the enemy met him in the way with cavalry and 
infantry. 

The Fifth Corps was distant several miles from 



REINFORCING SHERIDAN. 



385 



where the opposing forces first exchanged shots. 
But the sound of battle could be distinctly heard, 
and toward evening the receding noise suggested 
the driving of our cavalry before the enemy. 
Later in the day an officer of Sheridan's com- 
mand, cut off in an attack, found his way within 
the lines of the Fifth Corps, confirming the sus- 
picion that the cavalry had been driven back to 
Dinwiddle. 

Army headquarters were all astir, and orders 
quick and fast were transmitted to Warren. At 
one time a brigade is ordered to be sent down the 
White Oak road, and at another time down the 
Boydton plank-road. One order directs Warren to 
open communications with Sheridan; by another 
he is told to halt his troops at Gravelly Run. 
Eight o'clock, it was intimated in a confidential 
note that the Federal battle-line would be con- 
tracted, and an hour after Warren was directed 
to draw back two of his divisions within the 
Boydton plank-road, sending the remaining divi- 
sion to report to Sheridan. 

One o'clock a.m. of April 1st, it became known 
that Sheridan could not maintain himself at Din- 
widdle without reinforcements, and as these could 
only reach him from the Fifth Corps, its com- 
mander was urged to use every exertion to get 
troops to him as soon as possible. The bridge 
across the swollen stream of Gravelly Run, now 
too deep for infantry to ford, had to be rebuilt, 
33 



386 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



and with the first order to send troops to the re- 
lief of Sheridan, a pioneer force was set to work 
spanning the creek. 

Two o'clock A.M., the bridge was completed, 
and Ayres's Division reported to General Sheri- 
dan. The enemy that had driven Sheridan back 
to Dinwiddie retired from his front during the 
night and early morning of April 1st. With- 
drawing from White Oak Ridge in line of battle, 
first Grriffin and last Crawford marched in the 
direction of the Court House, and by ten o'clock 
A.M. Sheridan was reinforced by the three divi- 
sions of the Fifth Corps. 



CHAPTER YH. 

FIFTH CORPS WITH SHERIDAN. 

The movement of the Fifth Corps to Dinwid- 
dle Court House was a part of Grant's general 
plan, and placed Warren under the immediate 
orders of General Sheridan, with whom he was 
to co-operate. 

Eleven o'clock of April 1st, the three divisions 
of Griffin, Ayres, and Crawford were in position 
near Gravelly Run, looking toward the White 
Oak road. The thick fog had cleared away, and 
long lines of cavalry, soiled with mud, but with 



GETTING INTO POSITION. 



387 



spirit and daring in every look and movement, 
were seen marching in the direction taken by 
the retiring Confederates. Two hours later Gen- 
eral Warren was ordered to move his corps' to 
the front, the enemy having made a stand which 
promised to be obstinate, behind formidable in- 
trenchments at Five Forks. 

Up to this moment G-eneral Lee seems to have 
been in strange ignorance of the doings on his 
right. Assured that with a knowledge of the 
danger imperiling his flank would come rein- 
forcements, or a retreat, Sheridan, anxious to 
improve the golden opportunity, was impatient 
at the slightest apparent delay. 

The roads were heavy with mud, and the men 
worn down by four nights of marching and 
battle. It may have looked like slow plodding, 
as the troops crowded through that narrow lane, 
leading past G-ravelly Run Church to the "White 
Oak road. But they were doing all that men 
depending upon their own legs alone could do, 
and when they merged out into the open ground 
upon which they were to act, the comipact lines of 
the old Fifth Corps told that the lessons learned 
in the van of many important army movements, 
since the crossing of the Rapidan a year before, 
were not quite forgotten. 

The right of the battle-line was given to Craw- 
ford's Division, and the left to Ayres, Griffin 
forming his ranks behind Crawford. A hurried 



388 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



survey of the ground in front enabled General 
Warren to explain to his division and brigade 
commanders the part that each one was expected 
to perform. The cavalry was to attack in front, 
while the infantry, crossing the White Oak road, 
was to carry the enemy's flank and rear. 

The lines moved out in splendid style. But a 
faulty calculation as to the exact position of the 
enemy's left flank, and the difiicult nature of the 
ground over which the troops were moving — 
through bogs, and tangled woods, and thickets 
of pine — threw Crawford too far to the right. 
The assault intended to be made by the Third 
Division, supported by Griffin, as a consequence 
fell upon Ayres. 

The first volley from the muskets of the in- 
fantry was the signal of attack for the cavalry in 
front. It was now four o'clock in the afternoon, 
and though assailed on the flank and in front, 
and threatened in the rear, the enemy made a 
bold and gallant defense. Griffin came into the 
gap between Ayres and Crawford, while the 
latter, wheeling to the left, crossed the Ford road, 
a country highway running through the center 
of the enemy's position and directly in his rear. 
It was not intended that the Federal line should 
take such a formation, but it was this form alone 
that made the battle of Five Forks such a com- 
plete victory. Staggered at first by the heavy fire 
that struck their left fiank, and unable for the 



BATTLE OF FIVE FORKS. 



389 



thick woods and bushes to see the foe with whom 
thej were contending, Ayres's men faltered a 
moment. But it was only for a moment. Re- 
covering from their surprise as they neared the 
enemy's intrenchments, they charged his works 
at a single bound, capturing hundreds of prison- 
ers and several flags. Joined by Griffin, who had 
also wheeled to the left, both divisions went 
sweeping down the line of rebel works toward 
Five Forks. The cavalry was already on the 
right flank, and it only needed Crawford to close 
in upon the Ford road to cut off every avenue of 
escape. 

Cra-^vford's line was formed with the First 
Brigade on the right, the Second (Baxter) on the 
left, and the Third (Coulter) in the rear. -The 
Third Brigade was soon ordered to the front, to 
fill up the gap between our own and the Second 
Division, bringing it next to the Eleventh Regi- 
ment, holding the left of Baxter's second line. 
The Are of the enemy now became severe, espe- 
cially on Crawford's center and left. But shouts 
and cheers, rising above the din of clashing 
arms, were heard from every part of the field. 

The moment had come for the final charge, 
and riding to the right. Warren directed Craw- 
ford to move down the Ford road, and attack 
the enemy in rear of his fortifications. The ad- 
vance was given to General Coulter, the other 
two brigades marching in near support. Across 
33* 



390 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



the road, and in a position to defend all its ap- 
proaches, was a rebel battery of four guns and a 
strong line of infantry. Against this force the 
division was pressing down, meeting in its ranks 
a rapid and destructive fire, from which the troops 
were at first disposed to shield themselves in the 
woods on either side of the road. But the en- 
thusiasm of certain success carried them -on- 
ward. 

Coulter was handsomely sustained by Baxter, 
and when the men of the Third Brigade shouted 
over the taking of the battery whose terrible ex- 
ecution could be seen in the breaks in their 
ranks, so near was the Eleventh to its old com- 
mander that not only did it join in the cheer, but 
charging the enemy's line of infantry. Sergeant 
H. A. Delavie, of Co. I, seized the flag of the 
Thirty-second Virginia Regiment from its re- 
treating bearer, and waved it aloft over the 
enemy's captured works. 

A short distance beyond where the guns were 
taken, Crawford connected with the First and 
Second Divisions, and without halting for an in- 
stant, the lines of the Fifth Corps, as they bore 
down on Five Forks, moving through the rifle- 
pits and over the intrenchments of the enemy, 
swept them clean of everything dressed in gray. 

Crawford's Division lost three hundred in 
killed and wounded, Ayres's Division two hun- 
dred and five, Griflin's Division one hundred and 



THE LAST MARCH OF THE FIFTH CORPS. 391 



twenty-five, in all six hundred and thirty-four 
men. But the enemy's right flank was com- 
pletely broken, leaving between five and six thou- 
sand prisoners in our hands; the Fifth Corps 
alone capturing over three thousand men, with 
their arms, eleven regimental colors, and one 
four-gun battery with its caissons. Seven o'clock 
P.M., camp-fires were burning in every direction, 
around which gathered groups of men, jubilant 
over the successes of the day. Retracing its 
steps over the line of battle, the Fifth Corps 
bivouacked at night on the White Oak road, 
near Gravelly Run Church. 



CHAPTER YIII. 

THE LAST MARCH OF THE FIFTH CORPS. 

The second day of April was Sabbath — a 
bright, clear day. Called from their bivouac 
near Gravelly Run Church, whose closed doors 
reminded us of the wicked times upon which we 
had fallen, the two divisions of Crawford and 
Griffin, turning their backs upon Five Forks, at 
an early hour in the morning were marching in 
the direction of Petersburg, to open communi- 
cation with the main body of the army on the 
right. 



392 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



The enemy was found in strong position di- 
rectly across our path, at the junction of the 
White Oak and Claiborne roads. Miles's Divi- 
sion of the Second Corps, sent to reinforce Sher- 
idan, and that marched in front of the Fifth 
Corps, at once opened the attack on the enemy. 
Before tlie lines of Crawford and Griffin could 
be formed, General Humphreys, with the rest of 
the Second Corps, moved down from the right. 
The connection with the right of the army was 
now complete, and leaving Miles to act with his 
own corps, Sheridan countermarched the Fifth 
Corps to Five Forks, and crossing Hatcher's Run 
by the Ford road, reached the Southside Railroad 
without opposition. 

A thousand caps went swinging into the air as 
the troops crossed that great thoroughfare of the 
Confederate army. The men believed that they 
had now reached the objective point of the cam- 
paign, and with willing hands awaited the order 
to unsling knapsacks, and commence the work 
of tearing up the railroad. But instead of a 
halt, the march was continued at a quick step 
up the road toward Petersburg. Then, obliqu- 
ing to the left, and still marching on across 
Chandler's Run, late at night the Eleventh biv- 
ouacked in line of battle north of Sutherland 
Station, the right of the regiment resting on 
ISTamozine road, and connecting on the left with 
the rest of Baxter's Brigade. 



GENERAL WARREN RELIEVED. 



393 



The absence of General Warren from the 
head of the column, as it filed ont into the 
"White Oak road, early in the morning, was the 
first intimation to the troops that the general 
had been relieved of the command. With the 
splendid achievements of General Sheridan fully 
acknowledged, and with an admiration of his 
dashing soldierly qualities second to none, the 
men of the Fifth Corps have never forgiven him 
for his hasty action toward their well-tried com- 
mander. 

The successes that followed the victory of Five 
Forks — a victory which belongs as much to 
Warren as to Sheridan — and that culminated in 
the surrender of General Lee, sunk out of sight 
many things that might otherwise have come to 
the surface. Regarded at the time as a freak of 
temper rather than the dictate of calm and sober 
judgment^ the removal of General Warren re- 
mains to this day without the justification of 
reason or expediency. 

The enemy that we knew to be behind the line 
of earthworks in front of our bivouac, slipped 
away during the night, and on the morning of 
April 3d the Fifth Corps, commanded by Gen- 
eral Griffin, moved out with its accustomed 
promptness. 

Too busy with the exciting contest in our im- 
mediate front to hear the guns that had opened 
all along the front of Petersburg, it was not 



394 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



until this morning that we knew of the success- 
ful storming of its outer defenses, and the com- 
pression of our lines around the city. It was 
while the men were w^aiting for the order to fall 
into ranks, that a deep and prolonged cheer 
came rolling along the line of troops, like the 
swellings of a tornado, telling that Petersburg 
and Richmond were both evacuated, and that 
the whole rebel army was in precipitate retreat 
toward Danville. 

If the quartermaster had gone through the 
ranks of the Eleventh, and, taking up all the 
sore feet and stilFened limbs, had issued to each 
man of the regiment a new pair of legs, they 
could not have marched forth with a more 
supple ste-p. The roads over which we moved 
were the same, in their make-up, that we had 
been traversing for four long and wearisome 
years — swamps and woods, varied only by woods 
and swamps. That day, too, we were marching, 
at a dog- trot, after Merritt's cavalry; but all fa- 
tigue was gone. From his place in the ranks 
each private soldier could see the end of the re- 
bellion in the capture of Lee's retreating army: 
and toward that point everything was now made 
to bend. 

Ten o'clock at night we bivouacked at Deep 
Creek, with the Appomattox River not far to our 
right. Scores of stragglers from the Southern 
army, and multitudes of contrabands, who had 



BIVOUAC AT DEEP gREEK. 



395 



lost their masters, had fallen into the moving 
column during the day. Gathered around the 
camp-fires that the chilly night-air still made 
pleasant and agreeable, the events of the passing 
hours were discussed with an interest as absorb- 
ing as cabinet ministers could discuss them. 

An hour later most of the men had stretched 
themselves on the ground to sleep. Walking up 
and down through the ranks of prostrate forms, 
we found ourselves not alone wakeful Avith the 
thoughts of the past and the promises of the fu- 
ture. With heads toward the fire lay huddled 
together a group of darkies, all on terms of the 
most friendly intimacy. We came upon them, 
unobserved, and waited a moment to listen to 
their talk. 

"I feels better to-night than I did after that 
fight at Gettysburg," said one, whose voice was 
at once recognized. " That was a mighty warm 
place, I tell you. It seemed to me as if I'd 
never git away from thar. I felt as if I wanted to 
pray, but de colonel's Jim was thar, and de doc- 
tor's And}^, and I didn't like to let 'em see me. 
Then the shells begin to come faster than ever, 
and dey seemed to say as plain as anything, 
H-a-r-vey! H-a-r-vey!! So I stretched myself 
square on de ground, jist as I'm laying now, and 
I said low to myself, 0, Lord, if you please, do 
de very best you can for Harvey. Jist then I 
heard an awiul hollering. Andy said, ' de John- 



396 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



nies is gitting wliipt;' and it was all true. I felt 
good tlien; but I feels a heap better now." 

Daylight of April 4th the Fifth Corps was 
again on the move. The cavalry had divided 
into three separate columns, and were pushing 
forward to harass the flank, and cross the front 
of the retreating Southerners. It was the same 
hurried m irch to-day as yesterday; and not" until 
the head of the column crossed the Richmond 
and Danville Railroad at Jetersville, sixteen 
miles from the place of starting, was the hard 
day's work completed. 

Throughout the day of April 5th Griflin's 
Corps remained intrenched at Jetersville. Ame- 
lia Court House was five miles to the northeast, 
and alread}' in possession of the Confederate ad- 
vance, l^ext day, turning westward, General 
Lee marched with rapid haste for Farmville, in 
the desperate endeavor to place the Appomattox 
River between himself and his eager pursuers. 
It was on this morning that Sheridan turned 
over the Fifth Corps to General Meade. It had 
followed the cavalry for three days, keeping up 
with the troopers in all their long and hurried 
marches, and watching at night in the same line 
of battle, or resting in the same bivouac. 

The Sixth Corps was now pushed to the front. 
Moving one day on the flank of the army as far 
to the left as Prince Edward Court House, and 
the next day hanging on the rear of the retreat- 



GENERAL LEE SURRENDERS. 



397 



ing rebels, April 9th the Fifth Corps halted at 
Appomattox Court House. 

The 9th day of April, 1865, was Sabbath; just 
such a calm, clear day as the one that preceded 
it, on which we moved out from our bivouac 
near Gravelly Run Church. The two armies of 
Grant and Lee were at last together, with only 
the little town of Appomattox between them. 
But there was no deploying of skirmishers, or 
movements of divisions into lines of battle, or 
unlimbering of cannon. The army of General 
Lee had surrendered; and in a small house, 
plainly seen low-squatted within a green inclos- 
ure, and before whose door an orderly on horse- 
back still held the white flag brought in by Gor- 
don and Wilcox, Grant and Lee v/ere settling 
the terms of capitulation. 



34 



398 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



CHAPTEE IX. 

HOMEWARD BOUND. 

The great work done, and well done, the lines 
of the victorious Federal army began to draw 
away from the scenes of the surrender, leaving 
the Fifth Corps behind to carry out the terms 
of the capitulation and to take charge of the 
public property. We confess to a feeling of 
loneliness, as with the disappearance of the last 
brigade over the hill that bounded our view, the 
notes of fife and drum, every moment growing 
fainter, were heard no more. 

But the morning came when the spoils of war 
were all secured, and the last Southern soldier 
paroled. Then the bugle sounded the order to 
march. It was the homeward march. One look 
at the beautiful country around the head-waters 
of the Appomattox, and, with faces once more 
toward Richmond, the column moved forward, 
first to Farmville, and then along the Rich- 
mond and Danville pike to the banks of the 
James. As we crossed the river. Belle Island 
was in full view, bringing an angry look to the 
eyes of the men, that at last expressed itself in 
derisive cheers, as they marched by the doors of 
Libby Prison and Castle Thunder. 



IN SIGHT OF A^ASHINGTON. 



399 



The day before the evacuation of Richmond, 
the only remaining prisoners confined in Libbj 
were sent down the river for exchange. Among 
these was Captain James T. Chalfant. of Co. F, 
captured at the battle of the Wilderness, May 
5th, 1864. After nearly a year's experience in 
the prison-pens of Lynchburg, Macon, Charles- 
ton, Columbia, and Charlotte, twice making his 
escape, and eacb time recaptured, the captain 
was the last Peunsylvanian to leave Richmond 
as a prisoner. 

Richmond was now in the rear, and moving 
over the Peninsula, across the Chickahominy 
and the Pamunkey, and then across the Rappa- 
hannock at Fredericksburg, we 

" Nightly pitched our moving tents 
A day's march nearer home ;" 

until one evening, in the last hours of sunlight, 
the troops looked down from Hall's Hill upon 
the City of Washington, smiling at the return of 
peace, but sad and stricken over the death of 
Abraham Lincoln. 

After a few days of rest and quiet came the 
grand review of the armies of Meade and Sher- 
man by the President of the United States, the 
Secretary of War, and G-eneral Grant. Then 
followed the work of disbanding ; and the ranks 
of the Federal army were scattered from Maine 
to Minnesota, each true volunteer forgetting the 



400 



STORY OF THE REGIMENT. 



calling of tlie soldier in tlie more peaceful duties 
of the citizen. 

As the State capital had been the rendezvous 
of the departing regiments, so it now became the 
gathering place of those returning from the war. 

Its best friends would hardly have recognized 
the old Eleventh, so changed was its organiza- 
tion, had not General Coulter and one or two of 
the original staff officers remained to prove its 
identity. One of its field officers — Major I. B. 
Overmyer — and most of the line officers had been 
promoted from the ranks. Even the drummer 
boys had grown up to be men, and came back 
wearing sword and epaulets. 

Those promoted out of our ranks, as well as 
those in them, did valuable service wherever 
they were placed. Col. H. A. Erink, of the One- 
hundred-and-eighty-sixth Regiment, afterward 
breveted brigadier-general, will be remrembered 
as the efficient provost-marshal of Philadelphia. 
Assistant Surgeons W. C. Phelps and W. E. Os- 
borne — whose places were filled in the regiment 
by Drs. John M. Rankin and Charles D. Eortney 
— became surgeons; the former of the Twenty- 
second Pennsylvania Cavalry, and the latter of 
the One-hundred-and-seventeenth Infantry Regi- 
ment. 

Awaiting our arrival in Harrisburg were men 
who had been absent from the regiment on de- 
tached service, or sick in hospital, sent forward 



CAMP CURTIN. 



401 



to be mustered out of service with their several 
companies. There were also a few returned from 
the prisons of the South, among whom were 
Captain A. G. Happer, of Co. I, and Lieutenant 
Ereeman C. Cay, of Co. K. Captain Happer 
was severely wounded, and fell into the hands 
of the enemy at the battle of the Wilderness. 
Lieutenant Gay was captured at Gettysburg, 
and remained nearly two years a prisoner. 

More than three thousand men were enrolled 
in the ranks of the Eleventh during the war. 
Less than three hundred marched back to Camp 
Curtin for final discharge. Many of the absent 
ones, who had been sent home because of dis- 
ease, or the severities of the campaign, or of 
honorable though disabling wounds, could have 
answered to their names had there been a calling 
of the roll. But the rest are filling graves scat- 
tered from Gettysburg to the Appomattox, from 
Annapolis to Andersonville, and will only answer 

"When the general Roll is called." 

The Story of the Eegiment is not for them. 
Its pleasant memories or sad reminiscences of 
marches and bivouacs, and of battles fought and 
victories won, are only for the living. 

"On fame's eternal camping-ground 
Their silent tents are spread; 
While glory keeps, with solemn round, 
The bivouac of the dead." 

THE END. 



